U.S. patent application number 12/090561 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-07 for disc changer.
This patent application is currently assigned to MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Chi Wei Lee, Masahiko Nakamura, Mum Pew Ng, Soon Han Poo, Rico Paolo O. Ramirez, Lay Ghee Tan, Mok Tiong Tan.
Application Number | 20090119691 12/090561 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37459359 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090119691 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee; Chi Wei ; et
al. |
May 7, 2009 |
DISC CHANGER
Abstract
The invention provides a disc changer including a plurality of
trays which can be moved respectively in a horizontal direction, a
tray driving gear unit capable of shuttling the trays between a
standby position and a disc exchange position, a gear driving
mechanism for driving the tray driving gear unit, a tray triggering
unit capable of locking/unlocking the trays in the standby
position, pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving gear
unit after unlocking the trays, and driving the trays toward the
disc exchange position, wherein all trays in the standby position
can be unlocked and pushed to engage with the tray driving gear
unit, and ejected outward from a mechanical chassis by a
predetermined tray stroke, thereafter the trays are driven back to
the standby position one by one, and when the last tray reaches the
standby position all trays are locked.
Inventors: |
Lee; Chi Wei; (Singapore,
SG) ; Ng; Mum Pew; (Singapore, SG) ; Tan; Mok
Tiong; (Singapore, SG) ; Ramirez; Rico Paolo O.;
(Singapore, SG) ; Nakamura; Masahiko; (Singapore,
SG) ; Poo; Soon Han; (Singapore, SG) ; Tan;
Lay Ghee; (Singapore, SG) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WENDEROTH, LIND & PONACK L.L.P.
1030 15th Street, N.W., Suite 400 East
Washington
DC
20005-1503
US
|
Assignee: |
MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO.,
LTD.
Osaka
JP
PANASONIC AVC NETWORKS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD.
Singapore
SG
|
Family ID: |
37459359 |
Appl. No.: |
12/090561 |
Filed: |
October 16, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
October 16, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2006/320989 |
371 Date: |
December 4, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
720/614 ;
G9B/17.013 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 17/30 20130101;
G11B 17/056 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
720/614 ;
G9B/17.013 |
International
Class: |
G11B 17/04 20060101
G11B017/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 18, 2005 |
SG |
200506743-4 |
Nov 11, 2005 |
SG |
200506978-6 |
Claims
1. A disc changer for storing a plurality of discs, transporting a
disc selected from the plurality of discs, and performing
recording/reproducing information signal on the disc, the disc
changer comprising: a plurality of trays which respectively can be
loaded with discs, can be moved substantially in a horizontal
direction parallel to main surfaces of the discs, and are stacked
substantially in a vertical direction perpendicular to the main
surfaces of the discs; a tray driving gear unit capable of
shuttling the trays between a standby position in which the trays
are stored in a mechanical chassis as a housing of the disc changer
and a disc exchange position in which the trays are protruded
outward from the mechanical chassis thereby the discs can be put on
the trays and removed form the trays; a gear driving mechanism
driven by an electrical motor to generate driving force for driving
the tray driving gear unit; a tray triggering unit capable of
locking/unlocking the trays in the standby position, the unit
capable of pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving gear
unit after unlocking the trays and capable of driving the trays
outward from the mechanical chassis toward the disc exchange
position; a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or
reproducing information signal on a disc placed on a turntable; and
an elevation unit capable of moving the recording/reproducing unit
with the turntable in a vertical direction to align the
recording/reproducing unit to a tray and place a disc on the tray
onto the turntable; wherein the trays in the standby position
locked by the tray triggering unit are unlocked and all trays are
pushed to engage with the tray driving gear unit by operating the
tray triggering unit, and all trays are protruded outward from the
mechanical chassis by a predetermined tray stroke, thereafter the
trays are driven by the tray driving gear unit back to the standby
position one by one from top to bottom, and when the last tray
reached to standby position the tray triggering unit locks all
trays in the standby position.
2. A disc changer for storing a plurality of discs, transporting a
disc selected from the plurality of discs, and performing
recording/reproducing information signal on the disc, the disc
changer comprising: a plurality of trays which respectively can be
loaded with discs, can be moved substantially in a horizontal
direction parallel to main surfaces of the discs, and are stacked
substantially in a vertical direction perpendicular to the main
surfaces of the discs; a tray driving gear unit capable of
shuttling the trays between a standby position in which the trays
are stored in a mechanical chassis as a housing of the disc changer
and a disc exchange position in which the trays are protruded
outward from the mechanical chassis thereby the discs can be put on
the trays and removed form the trays; a gear driving mechanism
driven by an electrical motor to generate driving force for driving
the tray driving gear unit; a tray triggering unit capable of
locking/unlocking the trays in the standby position, the unit
capable of pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving gear
unit after unlocking the trays and capable of driving the trays
outward from the mechanical chassis toward the disc exchange
position; a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or
reproducing information signal on a disc placed on a turntable; and
an elevation unit capable of moving the recording/reproducing unit
with the turntable in a vertical direction to align the
recording/reproducing unit to a tray and place a disc on the tray
onto the turntable; wherein the trays in the standby position
locked by the tray triggering unit are unlocked and all trays other
than a tray on which the disc is under recording/reproducing
operation are pushed to engage with the tray driving gear unit by
operating the tray triggering unit, and all trays other than the
tray on which the disc is under recording/reproducing operation are
protruded outward from the mechanical chassis by a predetermined
tray stroke, thereafter the trays are driven by the tray driving
gear unit back to the standby position one by one from top to
bottom, and when the last tray reached to standby position the tray
triggering unit locks all trays other than the tray on which the
disc is under recording/reproducing operation in the standby
position.
3. A disc changer according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined
tray stroke is a full stroke between the standby position and the
disc exchange position.
4. A disc changer according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined
tray stroke is a substantially half stroke of a full stroke between
the standby position and the disc exchange position.
5. A disc changer for storing a plurality of discs, transporting a
disc selected from the plurality of discs, and performing
recording/reproducing information signal on the disc, the disc
changer comprising: a plurality of trays which respectively can be
loaded with discs, can be moved substantially in a horizontal
direction parallel to main surfaces of the discs, and are stacked
substantially in a vertical direction perpendicular to the main
surfaces of the discs; a tray driving gear unit capable of
shuttling the trays between a standby position in which the trays
are stored in a mechanical chassis as a housing of the disc changer
and a disc exchange position in which the trays are protruded
outward from the mechanical chassis thereby the discs can be put on
the trays and removed form the trays; a gear driving mechanism
driven by an electrical motor to generate driving force for driving
the tray driving gear unit; a tray triggering unit capable of
locking/unlocking the trays in the standby position, the unit
capable of pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving gear
unit after unlocking the trays and capable of driving the trays
outward from the mechanical chassis toward the disc exchange
position; a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or
reproducing information signal on a disc placed on a turntable; and
an elevation unit capable of moving the recording/reproducing unit
with the turntable in a vertical direction to align the
recording/reproducing unit to a tray and place a disc on the tray
onto the turntable; wherein the tray triggering unit is driven by a
cam gear, and locks all the trays at standby position after the
last tray move from disc the exchange position to the standby
position, and wherein the tray triggering unit is provided with a
triggering plate which moves to unlock position and trigger
profiles on the triggering plate move concurrently to push trays to
engage them with drive gears.
6. A disc changer according to claim 5, wherein the triggering
plate is always engaged with a trigger gear which connected to a
cam profile on the cam gear, and a boss profile on the trigger gear
is inserted into the cam profile on the cam gear, and wherein the
gear rotates and drives the triggering plate when the cam profile
changes while cam gear rotates.
7. A disc changer according to claim 5, wherein the tray triggering
unit uses only single driving source for performing both triggering
and locking/unlocking operation.
8. A disc changer according to claim 5, wherein the triggering
plate has a trigger lever profile which bends to follow a guide
slot on the mechanical chassis, and wherein the profile changes
while it moves from rear to front of the disc changer and the
profile contacts to a trigger rib on the trays at the trays trigger
zone, the trays then being pushed forward to engage to the tray
driving gear unit.
9. A disc changer according to claim 5, wherein the tray triggering
unit is provided with a tray lock lever which tends to rotate
toward a locking direction when the tray moves from the standby
position to the disc exchange position, and the tray lock lever
provides an inter-locking effect to trays.
10. A disc changer according to claim 9, wherein the tray lock
lever has a plastic spring profile to provide a spring force which
acts towards a wall of the mechanical chassis, and the force pushes
the tray lock lever to lock the trays before the last tray moves to
the standby position.
11. A disc changer according to claim 10, wherein the triggering
plate has a protrusion profile to push against an end of the tray
lock lever to unlock the trays before the tray opening
operation.
12. A disc changer according to claim 11 wherein the triggering
plate has a protrusion profile to push against another end of the
tray lock lever to provide a locking effect by reducing a movement
gap.
13. A disc changer according to claim 12, wherein the triggering
plate is operative to lock and unlock the trays, and to push the
trays to engage with the driving gears by a linear motion.
14. An optical disc changer for performing at least one of the
operations of reproducing information from an optical disc or for
recording information thereto, the apparatus comprising: a
turntable; a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at
least one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable; a
plurality of trays for carrying respective optical discs; a housing
for receiving the plurality of trays; a tray driving gear unit; a
tray triggering unit for locking the trays in a standby position in
which the trays are received within the housing, for releasing the
trays, and for driving the trays from the standby position to a
position in which all the trays engage the tray driving gear unit;
and a mechanism for placing a disc on a selected one of the trays
onto the turntable; the tray driving gear unit being operative,
upon engagement with the trays, to drive all the trays at the same
time to a disc exchange position in which the trays are ejected
from the housing for loading or removal of respective optical
discs, and also operative to selectively withdraw the plurality of
trays one by one from the disc exchange position to the standby
position.
15. An optical disc changer for performing at least one of the
operations of reproducing information from an optical disc or for
recording information thereto, the apparatus comprising: a
turntable; a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at
least one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable; a
plurality of trays for carrying respective optical discs; a housing
for receiving the plurality of trays; a tray driving gear unit; a
tray triggering unit for locking the trays in a standby position in
which the trays are received within the housing, for releasing the
trays, and for driving the trays from the standby position to a
position in which the trays engage the tray driving gear unit; and
a mechanism for placing a disc on a selected one of the trays onto
the turntable; the tray driving gear unit being operative, upon
engagement with all the trays except the tray associated with a
disc which is presently loaded onto the turntable, to drive the
trays with which it is engaged at the same time to a disc exchange
position in which the trays are ejected from the housing for
loading or removal of respective optical discs, and also operative
to selectively withdraw the plurality of trays with which it is
engaged one by one from the disc exchange position to the standby
position.
16. An optical disc changer for performing at least one of the
operations of reproducing information from an optical disc or for
recording information thereto, the apparatus comprising: a
turntable; a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at
least one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable; a
plurality of trays for carrying respective optical discs; a housing
for receiving the plurality of trays; a tray driving gear unit; a
tray triggering unit for locking the trays in a standby position in
which the trays are received within the housing, for releasing the
trays, and for driving the trays from the standby position to a
position in which all the trays engage the tray driving gear unit;
and a mechanism for placing a disc on a selected one of the trays
onto the turntable; a cam gear; the tray driving gear unit being
operative to drive the trays to a disc exchange position in which
the trays are ejected from the housing for loading or removal of
respective optical discs, and also operative to withdraw the
plurality of trays from the disc exchange position to the standby
position; the tray triggering unit being driven by the cam gear,
and arranged to lock the trays at the standby position after the
last tray is moved from the disc exchange position to the standby
position.
17. A disc changer for storing a plurality of discs, transporting a
disc selected from the plurality of discs, and performing
recording/reproducing information signal on the disc, the disc
changer comprising: a plurality of trays which respectively can be
loaded with discs, can be moved substantially in a horizontal
direction parallel to main surfaces of the discs, and are stacked
substantially in a vertical direction perpendicular to the main
surfaces of the discs; a tray driving gear unit capable of
shuttling the trays between a standby position in which the trays
are stored in a mechanical chassis as a housing of the disc changer
and a disc exchange position in which the trays are protruded
outward from the mechanical chassis thereby the discs can be put on
the trays and removed form the trays; a gear driving mechanism
driven by an electrical motor to generate driving force for driving
the tray driving gear unit; a tray triggering unit capable of
locking/unlocking the trays in the standby position, the unit
capable of pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving gear
unit after unlocking the trays and capable of driving the trays
outward from the mechanical chassis toward the disc exchange
position; a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or
reproducing information signal on a disc placed on a turntable; and
an elevation unit capable of moving the recording/reproducing unit
with the turntable in a vertical direction to align the
recording/reproducing unit to a tray and place a disc on the tray
onto the turntable; wherein there is provided a tray driving rack
unit for driving the tray between the disc standby position and a
disc recording/reproducing position, and the tray driving rack unit
consists of a plurality of separate parts.
18. A disc changer according to claim 17, wherein the tray drive
rack unit comprises a tray drive rack and a tray catch lever, the
tray drive rack having a rack profile which engages with a drive
gear and moves at a fixed vertical position, and wherein the tray
drive rack also has one boss profile which is used to drive the
tray catch lever.
19. A disc changer according to claim 18, wherein the tray catch
lever is operative to pull the tray from the disc standby position
to the recording/reproducing position, and wherein the tray catch
lever has a hole at a center which receives a shaft profile of the
tray drive rack.
20. A disc changer according to claim 19, wherein the tray catch
lever is supported on a UD base (recording/reproducing section),
the tray catch lever moves and aligns to the selected tray
following to the recording/reproducing section, and wherein the
tray catch lever has a catch profile which fit into a tray's hook
profile to drive the tray, and the tray catch lever also has a cam
profile which provides rotating motion following to a cam profile
of UD base, thereby the tray catch lever can rotate away from
tray's hook profile when the tray reaches at disc standby
position.
21. A disc changer according to claim 20, wherein the internal hole
of the tray catch lever has a round ring surface which contacts a
shaft profile of the tray drive rack at any tray position and the
outer surface of the tray catch lever has a round surface which
contacts a side wall of UD base.
22. A disc changer according to claim 21, wherein the tray is
stopped by hitting a mechanical stopper at the
recording/reproducing position, and the tray drive rack is able to
move further to ensure that the tray can stop at correct position
even there are some variations of related parts.
23. A disc changer according to claim 17, wherein the tray drive
rack and the transverse slide plate is connected by a trigger lever
structure which can transfer and trigger the transverse slide plate
to engage a drive gear when the tray drive rack drives the tray to
the disc recording/reproducing position, and wherein the trigger
lever structure transfers and triggers the tray drive rack to
engage with the drive gear when the transverse slide plate is moved
to release completely a clamping condition by a clamper.
24. An optical disc changer for performing at least one of the
operations of reproducing information from an optical disc or for
recording information thereto, the disk changer comprising: a
turntable; a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at
least one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable; a
plurality of trays for carrying respective optical discs, the trays
being arranged in parallel; a housing for receiving the plurality
of trays; and a tray driving rack unit operative to drive a
selected one of the trays from a standby position to a
recording/reproducing position in which the disc is carries is
placed onto the turntable; the tray driving rack unit having a
first portion for translation transverse to the plane of the trays
for selection of one of the trays, and a second portion for
translating the first portion of the tray driving rack unit
parallel to the plane of the trays towards or away from the
recording/reproducing unit.
25. A disc changer according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined
tray stroke is a full stroke between the standby position and the
disc exchange position.
26. A disc changer according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined
tray stroke is a substantially half stroke of a full stroke between
the standby position and the disc exchange position.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a disc changer,
particularly but not exclusively to a disc changer that stores a
plurality of discs therein, transports a disc selected from a
plurality of discs, and performs recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on the disc. In the specification, the wording
of "recording/reproducing an information signal on a disc" refers
to "at least one of recording an information signal on a disc and
reproducing an information signal from a disc" as an abbreviated
form of expression.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] A conventional disc changer normally has a plurality of
trays housed within a casing, with each tray arranged to carry an
optical disc. In one known type, the disc changer includes a single
selected tray or a main tray with a selected sub tray and by
depressing an eject button the main tray carries the sub tray to
move from a standby position within the casing to protrude outward
to a disc exchange position for inputting or exchange of a disc. A
disc can then be placed on the sub tray which, upon receiving a
suitable signal, carries the disc together with the main tray into
the standby position. At the standby position, the sub tray departs
from the main tray to carry the disc to a storage rack within the
casing which can hold a plurality of disc to be played. With this
configuration, only one disc can be input or exchanged at a time,
and to load a disc or replace a disc, each of the rest of the trays
have to be ejected individually transported by the main tray. This
can greatly inconvenience an end user since, more often than not,
after keeping the discs inside the disc changer for a period of
time, the user would not be able to remember the correct
arrangement of the discs inside the disc changer and to find out,
it will be necessary to inspect the contents of each tray.
[0003] Another known type of disc changer has a number of sub-trays
arranged on a main tray and the main tray is used to transport all
the sub-trays to a disc exchange position. However, it is necessary
to have a main tray which increases manufacturing costs of the disc
changer and loading and replacement of disc are still inconvenient.
Further, returning of each tray to its standby position within the
casing is inefficient.
[0004] Some disc changers include a "Disc Check" function which
allows a number of trays to be ejected at different distances away
from the casing so that the trays partially overlap each other.
This allows the content of the trays to be checked. However, this
method is suitable only if the disc changer has a few trays and
further, such a function does not allow discs to be
loaded/replaced.
[0005] Further, in the conventional disc changers mentioned above,
when the trays are at the standby position waiting to carry a
selected disc to a position for reproducing/recording operation,
the tray is engaged with a tray drive gear train, and kept in this
position only by friction force of the gear train engagement and a
tension of a motor belt. Consequently, the trays are not held
securely and misalignment of the trays can occur if the disc
changer is transported when the trays are in such a position.
[0006] If a locking device is provided to lock all the trays, an
additional driving source is needed to unlock the locking state
prior to drive the trays. In general, a complicated design is
needed to lock the trays. As a locking device in a conventional
disc changer usually needs some time to activate the locking
function, a shifting of the tray from its standby position easily
happens during the tray "non-lock" period. This problem is
exacerbated when the "non-lock" period is long, and occurs many
times during the disc changer operating period.
[0007] With the above-described two types of conventional disc
changers, changing all the discs is inconvenient and requires a
long time. Further, it is not possible with a single instruction to
find out the titles of the discs or check which trays are
empty.
[0008] A further problem with a conventional disc changer is that
it uses a complicated configuration to select a tray and drive the
tray from a disc standby position to a disc recording/reproducing
position. This is because the driving mechanism needs to perform an
operation in which a tray is selected and the driving mechanism is
aligned with the selected tray before the driving mechanism can
drive the selected tray to the recording/reproducing position. Note
that the driving mechanism cannot engage to the selected tray, or
constrain the movement of the selected tray, while the tray is
between the disc standby position and the disc exchanging position,
since this would inhibit the movement of the tray to and from the
disc exchanging position before the tray is driven to the
recording/reproducing position.
[0009] Further, some conventional disc changers set a default
position for the mechanism for driving trays to the
recording/reproducing position at a position where the tray driving
mechanism does not engage any of the trays. With this
configuration, the loading time for the disc changer is higher
because the tray driving mechanism needs to start the tray
selection operation from the default position (which is not the
position of the selected tray) before it can drive the tray to the
recording/reproducing section. Still further, a large space is
provided in a conventional disc changer to accommodate the tray
drive gear and tray drive rack. This is needed because these parts
move vertically in a up/down direction following the
recording/reproducing section. Thus, the height and size of the
disc changer will increase since these parts cannot be placed
within the space within which the tray drive rack moves.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
[0010] The present invention has been developed in view of the
aforementioned technical problems and aims to provide a new and
useful disc changer device. A preferred embodiment of the invention
is a disc changer capable of ejecting all trays from the standby
position to the disc exchange position which the discs can be
exchanged, and capable also of closing the trays one by one from
top tray to bottom. Furthermore, the preferred embodiment is
capable of checking directly and visually the discs stored inside
the disc changer automatically with a single button operation. A
further preferred feature of the embodiment is that it includes a
firm and stable tray locking device for locking all trays in the
standby position. Furthermore, another preferred feature of the
embodiment is that it includes a tray triggering device capable of
locking of trays, so as to reduce the "non-lock" period and ensure
that the locking action is more accurate and more effective.
[0011] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there
is provided an optical disc changer for performing at least one of
the operations of reproducing information from an optical disc or
for recording information thereto, the apparatus comprising:
[0012] a turntable;
[0013] a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at least
one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable;
[0014] a plurality of trays for carrying respective optical
discs;
[0015] a housing for receiving the plurality of trays;
[0016] a tray driving gear unit;
[0017] a tray triggering unit for locking the trays in a standby
position in which the trays are received within the housing, for
releasing the trays, and for driving the trays from the standby
position to a position in which all the trays engage the tray
driving gear unit; and
[0018] a mechanism for placing a disc on a selected one of the
trays onto the turntable;
[0019] the tray driving gear unit being operative, upon engagement
with the trays, to drive all the trays at the same time to a disc
exchange position in which the trays are ejected from the housing
for loading or removal of respective optical discs, and also
operative to selectively withdraw the plurality of trays one by one
from the disc exchange position to the standby position.
[0020] A more specific expression of the first aspect of the
invention is a disc changer for storing a plurality of discs,
transporting a disc selected from the plurality of discs, and
performing recording/reproducing information signal on the disc,
the disc changer comprising: a plurality of trays which
respectively can be loaded with discs, can be moved substantially
in a horizontal direction parallel to main surfaces of the discs,
and are stacked substantially in a vertical direction perpendicular
to the main surfaces of the discs; a tray driving gear unit capable
of shuttling the trays between a standby position in which the
trays are stored in a mechanical chassis as a housing of the disc
changer and a disc exchange position in which the trays are
protruded outward from the mechanical chassis thereby the discs can
be put on the trays and removed form the trays; a gear driving
mechanism driven by an electrical motor to generate driving force
for driving the tray driving gear unit; a tray triggering unit
capable of locking/unlocking the trays in the standby position, the
unit capable of pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving
gear unit after unlocking the trays and capable of driving the
trays outward from the mechanical chassis toward the disc exchange
position; a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or
reproducing information signal on a disc placed on a turntable; and
an elevation unit capable of moving the recording/reproducing unit
with the turntable in a vertical direction to align the
recording/reproducing unit to a tray and place a disc on the tray
onto the turntable; wherein the trays in the standby position
locked by the tray triggering unit are unlocked and all trays are
pushed to engage with the tray driving gear unit by operating the
tray triggering unit, and all trays are protruded outward from the
mechanical chassis by a predetermined tray stroke, thereafter the
trays are driven by the tray driving gear unit back to the standby
position one by one from top to bottom, and when the last tray
reached to standby position the tray triggering unit locks all
trays in the standby position.
[0021] According to the configuration of the first aspect of the
invention (in its more specific expression), the triggering unit is
capable of performing both a triggering operation (moving the trays
into the operating area of the tray driving gear unit) and a
locking/unlocking operation. That is, the tray triggering unit can
be used for locking all of trays. Further, the trays in the standby
position locked by the tray triggering unit are unlocked and all
trays are pushed to engage with the tray driving gear unit by
operating the tray triggering unit, and all trays are ejected
outward from the mechanical chassis by a predetermined tray stroke,
thereafter the trays are driven by the tray driving gear unit back
to the standby position one by one from top to bottom, and when the
last tray reaches the standby position the tray triggering unit
locks all trays in the standby position. Therefore, a user can
eject all trays from the standby position toward the disc exchange
position by a predetermined tray stroke automatically with a single
button operation, thereby the operability of the disc changer is
much enhanced.
[0022] Further, in a second aspect of the present invention, there
is provided an optical disc changer for performing at least one of
the operations of reproducing information from an optical disc or
for recording information thereto, the apparatus comprising:
[0023] a turntable;
[0024] a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at least
one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable;
[0025] a plurality of trays for carrying respective optical
discs;
[0026] a housing for receiving the plurality of trays;
[0027] a tray driving gear unit;
[0028] a tray triggering unit for locking the trays in a standby
position in which the trays are received within the housing, for
releasing the trays, and
[0029] for driving the trays from the standby position to a
position in which the trays engage the tray driving gear unit;
and
[0030] a mechanism for placing a disc on a selected one of the
trays onto the turntable;
[0031] the tray driving gear unit being operative, upon engagement
with all the trays except the tray associated with a disc which is
presently loaded onto the turntable, to drive the trays with which
it is engaged at the same time to a disc exchange position in which
the trays are ejected from the housing for loading or removal of
respective optical discs, and also operative to selectively
withdraw the plurality of trays with which it is engaged one by one
from the disc exchange position to the standby position.
[0032] A more specific expression of the second aspect of the
invention is a disc changer for storing a plurality of discs,
transporting a disc selected from the plurality of discs, and
performing recording/reproducing information signal on the disc,
the disc changer comprising: a plurality of trays which
respectively can be loaded with discs, can be moved substantially
in a horizontal direction parallel to main surfaces of the discs,
and are stacked substantially in a vertical direction perpendicular
to the main surfaces of the discs; a tray driving gear unit capable
of shuttling the trays between a standby position in which the
trays are stored in a mechanical chassis as a housing of the disc
changer and a disc exchange position in which the trays are
protruded outward from the mechanical chassis thereby the discs can
be put on the trays and removed form the trays; a gear driving
mechanism driven by an electrical motor to generate driving force
for driving the tray driving gear unit; a tray triggering unit
capable of locking/unlocking the trays in the standby position, the
unit capable of pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving
gear unit after unlocking the trays and capable of driving the
trays outward from the mechanical chassis toward the disc exchange
position; a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or
reproducing information signal on a disc placed on a turntable; and
an elevation unit capable of moving the recording/reproducing unit
with the turntable in a vertical direction to align the
recording/reproducing unit to a tray and place a disc on the tray
onto the turntable; wherein the trays in the standby position
locked by the tray triggering unit are unlocked and all trays other
than a tray on which the disc is under recording/reproducing
operation are pushed to engage with the tray driving gear unit by
operating the tray triggering unit, and all trays other than the
tray on which the disc is under recording/reproducing operation are
protruded outward from the mechanical chassis by a predetermined
tray stroke, thereafter the trays are driven by the tray driving
gear unit back to the standby position one by one from top to
bottom, and when the last tray reached to standby position the tray
triggering unit locks all trays other than the tray on which the
disc is under recording/reproducing operation in the standby
position.
[0033] According to the configuration of the second aspect of the
invention (in its more specific expression), the triggering unit is
capable of performing both triggering and locking/unlocking
operation. That is, the tray triggering unit can be used commonly
for locking of trays. Further, the trays in the standby position
locked by the tray triggering unit are unlocked and all trays other
than a tray on which the disc is under recording/reproducing
operation are pushed to engage with the tray driving gear unit by
operating the tray triggering unit, and all trays other than the
tray on which the disc is under recording/reproducing operation are
protruded outward from the mechanical chassis by a predetermined
tray stroke, thereafter the trays are driven by the tray driving
gear unit back to the standby position one by one from top to
bottom, and when the last tray reached to standby position the tray
triggering unit locks all trays other than the tray on which the
disc is under recording/reproducing operation in the standby
position. Therefore, a user can eject all trays other than the tray
on which the disc is under recording/reproducing operation from the
standby position toward the disc exchange position by a
predetermined tray stroke automatically with a single button
operation, thereby the operability of the disc changer is much
enhanced. Further, in this case, ejecting and/or closing the trays
can be performed during a disc is under recording/reproducing
operation.
[0034] In a first preferred feature of the first or second aspect
of the invention, the predetermined tray stroke is preferably a
full stroke between the standby position and the disc exchange
position.
[0035] According to the first preferred feature, the trays are
withdrawn by the full stroke to the exchange position. Thereby, a
user can check directly and visually the discs stored inside the
disc changer and can exchange the discs with simple operation.
[0036] Also, in another preferred feature of the first or second
aspect of the invention, the predetermined tray stroke is
preferably a substantially half stroke of a full stroke between the
standby position and the disc exchange position.
[0037] According to the feature, trays are withdrawn by the half
stroke. Thereby, a user can check directly and visually the discs
stored inside the disc changer with simple operation.
[0038] Furthermore, in a third aspect of the present invention,
there is provided an optical disc changer for performing at least
one of the operations of reproducing information from an optical
disc or for recording information thereto, the apparatus
comprising:
[0039] a turntable;
[0040] a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at least
one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable;
[0041] a plurality of trays for carrying respective optical
discs;
[0042] a housing for receiving the plurality of trays;
[0043] a tray driving gear unit;
[0044] a tray triggering unit for locking the trays in a standby
position in which the trays are received within the housing, for
releasing the trays, and for driving the trays from the standby
position to a position in which all the trays engage the tray
driving gear unit; and
[0045] a mechanism for placing a disc on a selected one of the
trays onto the turntable;
[0046] a cam gear;
[0047] the tray driving gear unit being operative to drive the
trays to a disc exchange position in which the trays are ejected
from the housing for loading or removal of respective optical
discs, and also operative to withdraw the plurality of trays from
the disc exchange position to the standby position;
[0048] is the tray triggering unit being driven by the cam gear,
and arranged to lock the trays at the standby position after the
last tray is moved from the disc exchange position to the standby
position.
[0049] A more specific expression of the third aspect of the
invention is a disc changer for storing a plurality of discs,
transporting a disc selected from the plurality of discs, and
performing recording/reproducing information signal on the disc,
the disc changer comprising: a plurality of trays which
respectively can be loaded with discs, can be moved substantially
in a horizontal direction parallel to main surfaces of the discs,
and are stacked substantially in a vertical direction perpendicular
to the main surfaces of the discs; a tray driving gear unit capable
of shuttling the trays between a standby position in which the
trays are stored in a mechanical chassis as a housing of the disc
changer and a disc exchange position in which the trays are
protruded outward from the mechanical chassis thereby the discs can
be put on the trays and removed form the trays; a gear driving
mechanism driven by an electrical motor to generate driving force
for driving the tray driving gear unit; a tray triggering unit
capable of locking/unlocking the trays in the standby position, the
unit capable of pushing all trays to engage with the tray driving
gear unit after unlocking the trays and capable of driving the
trays outward from the mechanical chassis toward the disc exchange
position; a recording/reproducing unit for recording and/or
reproducing information signal on a disc placed on a turntable; and
an elevation unit capable of moving the recording/reproducing unit
with the turntable in a vertical direction to align the
recording/reproducing unit to a tray and place a disc on the tray
onto the turntable; wherein the tray triggering unit is driven by a
cam gear, and locks all the trays at standby position after the
last tray move from disc the exchange position to the standby
position, and wherein the tray triggering unit is provided with a
triggering plate which moves to unlock position and trigger
profiles on the triggering plate move concurrently to push trays to
engage them with drive gears.
[0050] According to the configuration of the third aspect of the
invention (in its more specific expression), the tray triggering
unit is driven by a cam gear, and locks all the trays at standby
position after the last tray move from disc the exchange position
to the standby position, and wherein the tray triggering unit is
provided with a triggering plate which moves to unlock position and
trigger profiles on the triggering plate move concurrently to push
trays to engage them with drive gears. Therefore, a user can eject
all trays from the standby position toward the disc exchange
position by a predetermined tray stroke automatically with a single
button operation, thereby the operability of the disc changer is
much enhanced.
[0051] In a preferred feature of the third aspect of the invention,
preferably the triggering plate is always engaged with a trigger
gear which connected to a cam profile on the cam gear, and a boss
profile on the trigger gear is inserted into the cam profile on the
cam gear, and wherein the gear rotates and drives the triggering
plate when the cam profile changes while cam gear rotates.
[0052] According to this preferred feature, the cam profile on the
triggering slide plate allows the flexible rib to holds the tray
tightly at shipment position and with accurately controlled free
play, the strong locking action of the plurality of trays can be
achieved. This arrangement also reduces cost by eliminating an
additional part for the locking of the plurality of trays. As the
trigger profile on trays and tray lock lever can be shaped with
large slopes or chamfers, this creates another advantage which
allows the trays when returning from disc exchange position to
standby position with variations in stopping position, to be evenly
aligned at standby position where the large slopes lock profile
will guide and align the trays evenly when the lock profiles are
being pushed towards the trays lock profile at standby
position.
[0053] In a second preferred feature of the third aspect of the
invention, the tray triggering unit uses only single driving source
for performing both triggering and locking/unlocking operation.
[0054] According to the second preferred feature, it is possible to
simplify the construction of the disc changer, since both
triggering and locking/unlocking operation can be performed by
using only single driving source.
[0055] In a third preferred feature of the third aspect of the
invention, the triggering plate has a trigger lever profile which
bends to follow a guide slot on the mechanical chassis, and wherein
the profile changes while it moves from rear to front of the disc
changer and the profile contacts to a trigger rib on the trays at
the trays trigger zone, the trays then being pushed forward to
engage to the tray driving gear unit.
[0056] According to the third preferred feature, tray unlock period
become minimum and the lock is immediate after tray being moved to
standby position. Interlocking effect of trays can achieved the
most effective locking result. When the tray moves forward
direction, tray lock lever rotate to locking direction and create
more locking force. At shipment lock condition, tray lock lever is
not able to move as the triggering slide plate lock profile
minimizes the free play gap for tray lock lever. So this only
allows the trays to move backwards into disc recording/reproducing
position and prevents it from moving to front direction unless by
means of triggering slide plate action of pushing.
[0057] Further, according to the third preferred feature, tray lock
lever is link by plastic linkage to create a joining part that can
rotate by itself not interfere each other lever while tray overcome
the lever to stocking position. Tray lock lever with plastic
linkage join separate lever into one part for cost reduction and
simplify the mounting process. Tray lock levers can act as separate
parts where the rotation of each lever does not affect to other
lever.
[0058] In a fourth preferred feature of the third aspect of the
invention, the tray triggering unit is provided with a tray lock
lever which tends to rotate toward a locking direction when the
tray moves forward direction, and the tray lock lever provides an
inter-locking effect to trays.
[0059] According to the fourth preferred feature, the tray
triggering unit is provided with a tray lock lever which tends to
rotate toward a locking direction when the tray moves forward
direction, and the tray lock lever provides an inter-locking effect
to trays. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a firm locking state
of the trays.
[0060] In a fifth preferred feature of the third aspect of the
invention, the tray lock lever has a plastic spring profile to
provide a spring force which acts towards a wall of the mechanical
chassis, and the force pushes the lock lever to lock trays before
the last tray moves to the standby position.
[0061] According to the fifth preferred feature, the tray lock
lever is linked by plastic linkage to create a joining part that
can rotate by itself not interfere each other lever while tray
overcome the lever to stocking position. Tray lock lever with
plastic linkage join separate lever into one part for cost
reduction and simplify the mounting process. Tray lock lever can
act as 5 separate parts where the rotation of each lever does not
affect to other lever.
[0062] Still further, the present invention has also been developed
in view of the aforementioned technical problems and aims to
provide a new and useful disc changer device. A preferred
embodiment of the invention is a disc changer capable of ejecting
all trays from the standby position to a disc exchange position
where the discs can be exchanged, and capable also of closing the
trays one by one from the top tray to bottom one. Further, the
preferred embodiment makes it possible to check directly and
visually the discs stored inside the disc changer automatically
with a single button operation.
[0063] One of the preferred objectives of the present invention is
to provide a disc changer with a tray driving rack unit requiring a
low number of parts and having a simple design to perform the
operation of driving a tray between the disc recording/reproducing
position and the disc standby position. The preferred embodiment is
a disc changer with a tray driving rack unit which moves in a
horizontal direction and has no need to move in a vertical
direction. The tray driving rack unit is able to drive a tray catch
lever which can be aligned to a selected tray without constraining
the movement of the selected tray from the disc standby position to
the disc exchanging position. The preferred embodiment is
furthermore a disc changer with a tray drive rack and a transverse
slide plate that can trigger each other to carry out load and
unload operations.
[0064] According to another aspect of the present invention, there
is provided an optical disc changer for performing at least one of
the operations of reproducing information from an optical disc or
for recording information thereto, the disc changer comprising:
[0065] a turntable;
[0066] a recording/reproducing unit operative to perform at least
one of the operations of recording and/or reproducing an
information signal on an optical disc placed on the turntable;
[0067] a plurality of trays for carrying respective optical discs,
the trays being arranged in parallel;
[0068] a housing for receiving the plurality of trays; and
[0069] a tray driving rack unit operative to drive a selected one
of the trays from a standby position to a recording/reproducing
position in which the disc is carries is placed onto the
turntable;
[0070] the tray driving rack unit having a first portion for
translation transverse to the plane of the trays for selection of
one of the trays, and a second portion for translating the first
portion of the tray driving rack unit parallel to the plane of the
trays towards or away from the recording/reproducing unit.
[0071] An alternative expression of the invention is a disc changer
for storing a plurality of discs, transporting a disc selected from
the plurality of discs, and performing recording/reproducing
information signal on the disc, the disc changer comprising: a
plurality of trays which respectively can be loaded with discs, can
be moved substantially in a horizontal direction parallel to main
surfaces of the discs, and are stacked substantially in a vertical
direction perpendicular to the main surfaces of the discs; a tray
driving gear unit capable of shuttling the trays between a standby
position in which the trays are stored in a mechanical chassis as a
housing of the disc changer and a disc exchange position in which
the trays are protruded outward from the mechanical chassis thereby
the discs can be put on the trays and removed from the trays; a
gear driving mechanism driven by an electrical motor to generate
driving force for driving the tray driving gear unit; a tray
triggering unit capable of locking/unlocking the trays in the
standby position, the unit capable of pushing all trays to engage
with the tray driving gear unit after unlocking the trays and
capable of driving the trays outward from the mechanical chassis
toward the disc exchange position; a recording/reproducing unit for
recording and/or reproducing information signal on a disc placed on
a turntable; and an elevation unit capable of moving the
recording/reproducing unit with the turntable in a vertical
direction to align the recording/reproducing unit to a tray and
place a disc on the tray onto the turntable; wherein there is
provided a tray driving rack unit for driving the tray between the
disc standby position and the recording and/or reproducing
position, and the tray driving rack unit is formed by separate
parts.
[0072] The tray driving rack unit includes a tray drive rack and a
tray catch lever to move the tray to travel between the disc
standby position and the disc recording/reproducing position. The
tray drive rack moves a second play lever and then a first play
lever to trigger a transverse slide plate to complete the clamping
operation.
[0073] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
tray drive rack has a long shaft profile where the tray catch lever
hole is inserted. The gear rack of tray drive rack is engaged and
driven by a second play gear to move between the disc standby
position and the disc recording/reproducing position. The movement
of tray drive rack will also move the tray catch lever.
[0074] According to an embodiment, tray drive rack moves a
horizontal direction. It is provided within a mechanical chassis,
and specifically at a low position within the mechanical chassis.
With this configuration, the tray drive rack is able to have a
stable and constant support. This ensures a stable movement of the
tray between the disc recording/reproducing position and the disc
standby position especially when the tray contains a disc. The tray
drive rack moves in the horizontal direction and is not required to
move in a vertical (up/down) direction when the tray is selected.
This reduces space required to accommodate the tray drive rack
because extra space is not required to permit it to undergo up/down
movement. Thus, the space over the tray drive rack can be used for
other purpose such as mounting of gears, and/or the overall size of
the disc changer, especially disc changer height, can be
reduced.
[0075] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
tray catch lever is supported on the recording/reproducing section
(UD base: Up/Down base) and moves on it. There is a catch profile
on top of the tray catch lever, and the catch profile is used to
pull the selected tray between the disc standby position and the
disc recording/reproducing position. The actual driving force is
transmitted from the tray drive rack to the catch lever. A shaft
profile of the tray drive rack is inserted into a center hole of
the tray catch lever, in order to provide a driving source which
drives the tray between the disc standby position and the disc
recording/reproducing position. The recording/reproducing section
brings the tray catch lever into alignment with the selected tray
in an up/down direction during the tray selection operation. There
is no need for any additional driving gear train for the tray
selection operation.
[0076] According to the embodiment, two parts (the tray catch lever
and the tray drive rack) are used to drive the tray. This permits
the height of the shaft profile to be reduced by half. This
configuration will remarkably facilitate the control of the
straightness of the parts. In the present design the tray catch
lever may be mounted on the recording/reproducing section and
supported on the UD base in a stable manner. This configuration
provides a stronger construction to the driving mechanism. The
recording/reproducing section can align the tray catch lever with a
selected tray by a vertical movement with a constant pitch and in a
more accurate manner. In order to achieve a good contact but less
friction force generated during a tray driving operation, a round
smooth surface ring profile may be formed inside the cavity within
the tray catch lever. The round smooth surface ring profile
contacts the shaft profile of the tray driving rack. Furthermore,
the outer surface of the tray catch lever also has similar round
ring surface which touches a wall of UD base.
[0077] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
tray catch lever rotates away from tray's hook profile when it is
driven by the tray driving rack to the disc standby position, and
when the tray driving rack moves the tray catch lever backward in
the direction of the disc recording/reproducing position, the tray
catch lever rotates into tray's hook profile and drives the
tray.
[0078] According to the embodiment, by using a cam profile on the
UD base and a cam profile of the tray catch lever, the tray catch
lever can be made to rotate and move away from the tray once the
tray is moved to the disc standby position. This configuration
creates, at the disc standby position, a condition in which the
tray catch lever is not engaged with the tray's hook. The tray can
be driven not only to the disc recording/reproducing position, but
also be driven from the standby position to the disc exchanging
position at any time, even when the tray catch lever is aligned to
the selected tray.
[0079] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
tray catch lever can perform an "over stroke" when the tray reaches
the recording/reproducing position. That is, when the tray hits to
stopper (which functions as a recording/reproducing position
stopper), the tray drive rack can still move further. This ensures
a tray stopping position where the tray will always stop before the
tray drive rack stops.
[0080] Note that it is important that the disc stops at the centre
of the turntable when the tray stops at the recording/reproducing
position, in order to have a stable and accurate disc clamping
operation. For this reason, the movement of the tray from the disc
standby position to the recording/reproducing position benefits
from the over stroke design. This will ensure that the tray can hit
the stopper and stop at well-defined position in the
recording/reproducing position. With the separation of the tray
drive rack and the tray catch lever, the tray drive rack can move
further after the tray hits the stopper. At this time, the tray
catch lever can rotate by some angle in order to avoid stressing
the shaft profile of the tray drive rack.
[0081] In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a
simple trigger construction is used to achieve a gear engagement
between the tray drive rack and the transverse slide plate. A
second play lever is rotated to push a first play lever when the
tray drive rack reaches the disc recording/reproducing position. A
boss profile of the first play lever is then pushed to the
transverse slide plate to engage to the second play gear. The
second play lever is fixed to the mechanical chassis while the
first play lever is fixed on the UD base.
[0082] According to the embodiment, the first play lever is fixed
on the UD base in order that it can move with the
recording/reproducing section and have a stable connection to the
transverse slide plate. The second play lever which has a long
shaft profile is fixed to the mechanical chassis in order to ensure
a stable connection between the tray drive rack and the first play
lever. An opening of the first play lever slides on the second play
lever when the recording/reproducing section operates to select a
tray in a vertical movement direction. With these configurations, a
transfer motion between the tray drive rack and the transverse
slide plate can be done with minimum force loss during a loading or
unloading operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0083] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a disc changer
according to the present embodiment in a state that all trays are
opened;
[0084] FIGS. 2(a) to 2(e) are schematic side views of the disc
changer showing various operations of the trays and a recording
and/or reproducing unit of the disc changer;
[0085] FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of the disc changer according to
the embodiment;
[0086] FIG. 3(b) is an enlarged perspective view of a part of a
disc tray;
[0087] FIG. 4 is a side view of the disc changer shown in FIG.
3(a);
[0088] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the disc changer taken along
line L5-L5 in FIG. 3(a);
[0089] FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a detail of tray opening
mechanism of the disc changer;
[0090] FIG. 7 is a bottom view of FIG. 6 focusing the tray
triggering unit;
[0091] FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are plan views of a focused part of the
disc changer showing a moving process of the trigger slide plate
for triggering trays;
[0092] FIGS. 9(a) to 9(c) are plan views of the trigger slide plate
showing a moving sequence thereof for triggering trays and
locking/unlocking trays in a standby position;
[0093] FIG. 10(a) is an explanatory drawing showing various
locations of a boss portion of the trigger slide plate;
[0094] FIG. 10(b) is a side view of the trigger slide plate;
[0095] FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c) are plan view of a tray driving gear
unit showing engagement and disengagement thereof to the tray;
[0096] FIGS. 12(a) to 12(d) are explanatory drawings showing a
sequence of a motion of a tray lock lever;
[0097] FIG. 13(a) is an exploded view of a tray driving gear
unit;
[0098] FIG. 13(b) is a perspective view of a complete assembly of
the tray driving gear unit;
[0099] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the tray driving gear unit
and a gear mechanism for driving it;
[0100] FIGS. 15(a) to 15(h) are explanatory drawings showing a
sequence of "RESET" the tray driving gear unit;
[0101] FIG. 16 is a side view of the tray driving gear unit with
trays at standby position;
[0102] FIG. 17 is an enlarged perspective view of the tray driving
gear unit with trays at standby position;
[0103] FIGS. 18(a) to 18(d) are explanatory drawings showing a
sequence of the tray driving gear unit for driving trays one by one
from top to bottom;
[0104] FIG. 19(a) is a top view of the disc changer;
[0105] FIG. 19(b) is a side view showing the tray driving gear unit
which engages with trays;
[0106] FIGS. 20(a) to 20(c) are side views showing a sequence of
closing the top tray from the disc exchange position to the disc
standby position;
[0107] FIG. 21 is a plan view showing a total layout of a driving
(gear) mechanism in the disc changer according to the
embodiment;
[0108] FIG. 22 is a plan view showing the details of a main part of
FIG. 21;
[0109] FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a gear engagement
around a switching gear.
[0110] FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing a gear engagement
around a function gear.
[0111] FIGS. 25(a) and 25(b) are schematic side views showing a
first gear train changing system by a switching gear;
[0112] FIGS. 26(a) and 26(b) are schematic side views showing the
second gear train changing system by a function gear;
[0113] FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a function lever and a
function gear in an assembly condition;
[0114] FIG. 28(a) is a plan view showing a cam gear;
[0115] FIG. 28(b) is a perspective view showing the outer profiles
at the lower side of the cam gear;
[0116] FIG. 29 is a block diagram for explaining a switching mode
of the driving mechanism in the disc changer;
[0117] FIG. 30 is a plan view showing a gear train of a tray
open/close system in the disc changer;
[0118] FIGS. 31(a) to 31(d) are plan views showing the sequence of
tray opening operation which mainly controlled by cam gear;
[0119] FIGS. 32(a) and 32(b) are perspective views showing a
trigger gear and a trigger slide plate;
[0120] FIG. 33 is a plan view showing a gear train of elevation
system in the disc changer;
[0121] FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing the components of the
elevation unit;
[0122] FIG. 35 is a side view showing a step-like cam profile on a
right side UD rack;
[0123] FIGS. 36(a) and 36(b) are perspective views respectively
showing the recording/reproducing section at an upper most position
and a lower most position;
[0124] FIG. 37 is a plan view showing a gear train of tray
play/stock system in a disc changer;
[0125] FIGS. 38(a) and 38(b) are plan views showing the movement of
driving trays between the disc standby position and the
recording/reproducing position;
[0126] FIG. 39 is a perspective view showing the components of the
tray driving rack unit;
[0127] FIG. 40(a) is a perspective view showing an assembled state
of the tray driving rack unit;
[0128] FIG. 40(b) is an enlarged perspective view showing a
substantial part of the tray driving rack unit;
[0129] FIG. 41(a) is a perspective view showing an assembled state
of the tray catch lever and the tray drive rack;
[0130] FIG. 41(b) is a plan view showing the assembled state of the
tray catch lever and the tray drive rack;
[0131] FIG. 41(c) is a sectional view taken along line L41-L41 in
FIG. 41(b);
[0132] FIG. 42 is a perspective view showing the tray drive rack
and the tray catch lever engaging with a tray;
[0133] FIG. 43(a) is a plan view showing the tray drive rack and
the tray catch lever engaging with a tray;
[0134] FIG. 43(b) is a sectional view taken along line L43-L43 in
FIG. 43(a);
[0135] FIG. 43(c) is an enlarged sectional view showing a fitting
portion of the tray catch lever to the long shaft of the tray drive
rack;
[0136] FIG. 44(a) is a plan view showing the tray driving rack unit
assembled to UD base;
[0137] FIG. 44(b) is a sectional view taken along line L44-L44 in
FIG. 44(a);
[0138] FIG. 44(c) is an enlarged sectional view showing a fitting
portion of the tray catch lever to the guide slot of the side wall
of UD base;
[0139] FIGS. 45(a) to 45(d) are enlarged plan views showing a
moving sequence of a tray catch lever to drive trays from disc
standby position to the recording/reproducing position;
[0140] FIGS. 46(a) to 46(d) are enlarged plan views showing a
sequence of an operation of tray driving rack unit;
[0141] FIG. 47(a) is a bottom view of the tray before it stopped at
the recording/reproducing position by a stopper on UD base;
[0142] FIG. 47(b) is an enlarged bottom view of the tray catch
lever in FIG. 47(a);
[0143] FIG. 48(a) is a plan view of the tray when it stopped at the
recording/reproducing position by a stopper on UD base;
[0144] FIG. 48(b) is an enlarged plan view of the tray catch lever
in FIG. 48(a);
[0145] FIG. 49(a) is a bottom view of the tray when it stopped at
the recording/reproducing position by a stopper on UD base;
[0146] FIG. 49(b) is an enlarged bottom view of the tray catch
lever in FIG. 49(a);
[0147] FIG. 50(a) is a plan view of the tray in a condition where
the tray catch lever moves further after tray is stopped at the
recording/reproducing position;
[0148] FIG. 50(b) is an enlarged plan view of the tray catch lever
in FIG. 50(a);
[0149] FIG. 51(a) is a bottom view of the tray in a condition where
the tray catch lever moves further after tray is stopped at the
recording/reproducing position;
[0150] FIG. 51(b) is an enlarged bottom view of the tray catch
lever in FIG. 51(a);
[0151] FIG. 52 is a side view showing a clamper unit in an
unclamping condition;
[0152] FIG. 53 is a side view showing the clamper unit in a
clamping condition;
[0153] FIG. 54 is an enlarged plan view showing a locking system
for trays at disc standby position;
[0154] FIG. 55(a) is a plan view of a tray lock lever;
[0155] FIG. 55(b) is a perspective view of the tray lock lever.
[0156] FIG. 56 is a diagram showing a relationship between cam gear
positions and locking types of the tray;
[0157] FIG. 57(a) to 57(c) are enlarged plan views showing tray
lock levers in locking trays at standby position;
[0158] FIG. 58 is a perspective view of the disc changer from front
side in a state trays are locked at stand by position;
[0159] FIG. 59 is a perspective view of the disc changer from rear
side in a state trays are locked at stand by position;
[0160] FIG. 60 is a plan view showing a locking mechanism at the
recording/reproducing section.
[0161] FIGS. 61(a) and 61(b) are perspective views showing a first
lock lever and a second play gear in a lock condition;
[0162] FIGS. 62(a) and 62(b) are a plan view and a perspective view
showing a first lock lever as a locking device;
[0163] FIGS. 63(a) and 63(b) are a plan view and a perspective view
showing the first lock lever;
[0164] FIG. 64(a) is a plan view showing a locking condition of the
first lock lever.
[0165] FIG. 64(b) is a plan view showing an unlocking condition of
the first lock lever;
[0166] FIG. 65 is a perspective view showing a condition where the
cam gear rotates to a position for unlocking the first lock
lever;
[0167] FIG. 66 is a plan view showing a second lock lever as a
locking device in the changer mechanism;
[0168] FIG. 67 is a perspective view showing a second lock lever
and a second UD gear in an unlock condition;
[0169] FIG. 68(a) is a plan view showing a locking condition of the
second lock lever;
[0170] FIG. 68(b) is a plan view showing an unlocking condition of
the second lock lever;
[0171] FIG. 69 is a plan view of a cam gear explaining an operation
thereof when it rotates in a clockwise and a counter-clockwise
direction;
[0172] FIG. 70 is a perspective view show a condition where the cam
gear is rotated to a position for unlocking the second lock
lever;
[0173] FIG. 71 is a perspective view showing another locking system
that prevents a movement of the recording/reproducing section when
one of the tray is at the recording/reproducing position; and
[0174] FIG. 72 is a locking system summary table at
recording/reproducing section.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0175] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention
will be described with reference to the accompanied drawings.
[0176] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a disc changer 1
according to the present embodiment in a state that all trays T are
opened. As shown in FIG. 1, the disc changer 1 is provided with a
plurality of trays T. In the embodiment, the disc changer 1 is
provided with five trays T (labeled T1-T5), but in other
embodiments there may be a different number of trays T. Each tray T
is capable of carrying a disc D thereon. The disc D may be a large
disc Da having a larger diameter of 12 cm or a small disc Db having
a smaller diameter of 8 cm depending on user's requirement, for
example. The disc changer 1 is also provided with a generally
box-like shaped mechanical chassis 3 which serves as a housing or
an outer frame body thereof.
[0177] Each tray T can be stored within the mechanical chassis 3 in
a state that they are stacked in a substantially vertical direction
perpendicular to a main surface of the disc D, and can be moved in
a substantially horizontal direction parallel to the main surface
of the disc D.
[0178] FIGS. 2(a) to 2(e) are schematic side views of the disc
changer 1 showing various operations of the trays T and a
recording/reproducing section 70 of the disc changer 1. As shown in
the drawings, the disc changer 1 is provided with, as tray
positions, three different positions which are different in
horizontal direction to each other. That is, a disc exchange
position X in which the tray T protrudes outward from the
mechanical chassis 3, a standby position Y in which the tray T is
stored in the mechanical chassis 3 and a recording/reproducing
position Z in which the tray T is correctly positioned to interact
with the recording/reproducing section 70. The
recording/reproducing position Z is set at near a back in the
mechanical chassis 3, and the standby position Y is set at near an
entrance of the mechanical chassis 3.
[0179] Among the FIGS. 2(a) to 2(e), FIG. 2(a) shows a RESET state.
In this RESET state, all the five trays T except for the highest
level tray T1 are stored and aligned with one another at the
standby position Y. The recording/reproducing section 70 is movable
in a vertical direction, and is shown in FIG. 2(a) at its highest
position. The highest level tray T1 is stored at
recording/reproducing position Z.
[0180] FIG. 2(b) shows a series of disc exchanging states. In the
state shown in FIG. 2(b-1), all trays T are moved to the disc
exchange position X at once. It will be noted that the discs D (Da
or Db) can be put on the trays T or removed from the trays T by
moving the trays T one by one from top to bottom, as shown in the
sequence of images 2(b-1) to 2(b-5).
[0181] FIG. 2(c) shows a series of recording/reproducing states. In
each of these states, a specified tray T is moved to the
recording/reproducing position Z form the standby position Y and is
stopped there, thereafter a recording or reproducing signal on the
disc D on the specified tray T is started. The disc D which is to
be performed the recording or reproducing signal thereon can be
exchanged by exchanging the specified tray T. With respect to FIG.
2(c-1), the arrangement of the trays T is the same as the RESET
shown in state FIG. 2(a), because the highest tray T1 is located to
the recording/reproducing unit 70. The sequence of images FIG.
2(c-1) to FIG. 2(c-5) show how the trays T are successively moved
to the recording/reproducing position Z.
[0182] Moreover, FIG. 2(d) shows a series of disc exchanging states
during the recording and/or reproducing operation, for example a
disc exchanging while tray T1 is at the recording/reproducing
position Z. FIG. 2(d-1) shows the disc changer 1 in the same
configuration as FIG. 2(c-1) in which all the discs D are in the
disc exchange position X. In the state shown in FIG. 2(d-2), except
for the tray T1 which supports a disc D during the recording or
reproducing operation, all trays T (T2-T5) are positioned at the
disc exchange position X, and in the sequence of images 2(d-2) to
2(d-5) the trays T are closed one by one from top to bottom, so
that a disc D can be put on and/or removed from each tray T (T2-T5)
when that tray T is the uppermost one at the disc exchange position
X.
[0183] FIG. 2(e) shows in FIG. 2(1-e) to 2(e-5) a series of images
which are respective fully-open states of the trays T during the
recording and/or reproducing operation. In each of these states a
single specified tray T is at the recording or reproducing position
Z, and all the other trays T are positioned at the disc exchange
position X. A disc D can be put on the corresponding tray or
removed from it when the tray T is in the disc exchange position X,
while the disc D on the specified tray T in the recording or
reproducing position Z is experiencing the recording or reproducing
operation.
[0184] The whole configuration of a disc changer 1 according to an
embodiment of present invention which performs the above-described
operations will be explained in accordance with FIGS. 3 to 5.
[0185] FIG. 3(a) is a plan view of the disc changer 1 according to
the embodiment, FIG. 3(b) is an enlarged perspective view of a part
of a tray T, FIG. 4 is a side view of the disc changer 1 shown in
FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the disc changer 1 taken
along line L5-L5 of FIG. 3(a).
[0186] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, each tray T has a large diameter
step Ta and a small diameter step Tb on the upper surface. Thereby,
a selected one of large disc Da and a small disc Db having
different diameters (12 cm and 8 cm) to each other can be loaded on
the tray T.
[0187] In the tray T, grooves Tc are formed on both right and left
sides at the back, a gear rack Td is formed on one side (the left
side, for example), a step up surface Te is formed on the left side
at the back in rear portion of the tray T. Also, as shown in FIG.
3(b), a rib Tf is formed on the left side at the back in rear
portion of the tray T, underneath the rack Td. Further, an opening
of a hook profile Tg is formed on the left side of the rear portion
of a tray support.
[0188] A plurality of (e.g. five) trays T are separately arranged
in parallel while being stacked substantially in a vertical
direction, that is, perpendicular to the main surfaces of the discs
D. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the trays T are supported by guide
ribs 3a provided inside on the right and left sides of the
mechanical chassis 3, so that the trays T can move substantially in
a horizontal direction (lateral direction), that is in parallel
with main surfaces of the disc D.
[0189] The trays T are moved by a tray driving gear unit 20
provided on the left side of the mechanical chassis 3, between the
disc exchange position X and the standby position Y. A tray driving
rack unit 60 is provided on the left side rearward of the trays T.
The tray driving rack unit 60 is mounted on an UD base 5, moves and
aligns itself to a specified tray address, and transfers trays T to
the recording/reproducing section 70. It is to be noted that FIGS.
3 to 5 show a state in which the highest level tray T1 (the first
tray) is located at the disc exchange position X.
[0190] The disc recording/reproducing section 70 is provided behind
the trays T located at the standby position Y. The disc
recording/reproducing section 70 is supported by a left guide rib
3b and a right guide rib 3c which are formed on the sides of
mechanical chassis 3, and is moved in a up and down direction
(vertical direction) by an elevating unit 30 which will be
discussed later.
[0191] A triggering unit 50 (shown in FIG. 4, and described in more
detail below with reference to FIG. 31) is provided on the left
side of the disc changer 1, and moves in a direction parallel to
the left side surface of the mechanical chassis 3 to push the trays
T so as to engage them with the tray driving gears unit 20.
Further, there is provided a driving mechanism 100 (described below
with reference to FIG. 21) composed of a motor for driving each
part, gear trains, a plunger unit for switching between gear
trains, and a detection switch, under the trays T located at the
standby position Y.
[0192] As mentioned above, the tray driving gear unit 20 is located
on the left side of the mechanical chassis 3, and an open switch
lever 27 for detecting trays T to be driven toward the disc
exchange position X is provided at the vicinity of the tray driving
gear unit 20. A gear cover 28 is mounted to cover a predetermined
part of the top of the mechanical chassis 3, including the top of
the tray driving gear unit 20 and the open switch lever 27.
Thereby, longitudinal (vertical) axes of the tray driving gear unit
20 and the open switch lever 27 are correctly and stably positioned
in relation to each other. Moreover, a top cover 4 is mounted on
the top of the mechanical chassis 3 to increase the stiffness of
the mechanical chassis 3 and to protect it from dust.
[0193] FIG. 6 is a top view showing a detail of the tray opening
mechanism of the disc changer 1. The tray opening system includes
the trays T, the tray driving gear unit 20 capable of driving trays
T from the standby position Y to the disc exchange position X, and
a trays triggering unit 50 having a trigger slide plate 52. The
trigger slide plate 52 is moved by a trigger gear 51 and a cam gear
114 to lock/unlock trays T at standby position and push all trays T
to engage them with the tray driving gear unit 20. The trigger
slide plate 52 moves by sliding at the side of mechanical chassis
3, while a boss portion 52c on the trigger slide plate 52 moves to
follow cam profiles 3d on both the top and bottom of mechanical
chassis 3.
[0194] FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a portion of the section of the
disc changer 1 shown in FIG. 6, focusing on the tray triggering
unit 50. As shown in FIG. 7, the trigger gear 51 with a gear rack
51b is connected to the cam gear 114 by a boss 51a is fitted into a
groove 114b (see FIG. 6) of the cam gear 114. When the cam gear 114
is rotated, the boss 51a is driven in accordance with a profile of
the cam groove 114b, thereby the trigger gear 51 is rotated around
a supporting boss 51c. Thus, a gear rack 51b on the trigger gear 51
which engages with a rack profile 52b of the trigger slide plate 52
will push the trigger slide plate 52 to move in forward direction,
and then push trays T at a trigger rib Th (see FIG. 8(b)).
[0195] A tray lock lever 53 is arranged between the trays T and the
trigger side plate 52. The tray lock lever 53 is provided with a
locking profile 53a (a convex part, for example) for locking trays
T at standby position Y. The locking profile 53a controls the trays
T at the standby position by contacting surfaces Tk and Tm of a
recess formed on the side of the trays T.
[0196] FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) show a moving process of the trigger
slide plate 52 for triggering trays T. Boss shaped portions 52c are
provided on the top and the bottom of the trigger slide plate 52.
The boss portion 52c is fitted into a cam groove 3d formed on the
top and the middle of the mechanical chassis 3. The cam groove 3d
includes three moving paths P1-P3 for the boss portion 52c of the
trigger slide plate 52.
[0197] A moving path P1 is a "HOME" path for the boss portion 52c
of the trigger slide plate 52, a moving path P2 is a "TRIGGER" path
P3 and a moving path P2 is a "TRANSITION" path located between the
"HOME" path P1 and the "TRIGGER" path P3.
[0198] FIG. 8(b) shows the boss portion 52c of the trigger slide
plate 52 in the "TRIGGER" path P3, the driving rib 52a of the
trigger slide plate 52 is touching the trigger rib Th of the tray
T, and ready to push trays T to move towards the tray driving gear
unit 20.
[0199] FIGS. 9(a) to 9(c) show a moving sequence of the trigger
slide plate 52 for triggering the trays T and locking/unlocking the
trays T in the standby position Y. FIG. 9(a) shows the trigger
slide plate 52 at "HOME" position. A first protrusion profile 52e
is touching a rib 53b protruding from the tray lock lever 53,
thereby a movement of the tray lock lever 53 in arrow F or arrow E
direction is prevented. The locking profile 53a is touching the
surfaces Tk and Tm, thereby trays T are "locked" at the standby
position Y. When the boss portion 52c of the trigger slide plate 52
moves to the "TRANSITION" path, the first protrusion 52e moves away
from the rib 53b, as shown in FIG. 9(b). However, the tray lock
lever 53 will remain in the same condition as FIG. 9(a).
[0200] This is due to a function of a plastic spring 53d of the
tray lock lever 53. The plastic spring 53d does not allow the tray
lock lever 53 to rotate in the direction of the arrow E and urge
the tray lock lever 53 towards the direction of the arrow F if a
bending force is applied on the plastic spring 53d. Before the
driving rib 52a of the trigger slide plate 52 reaches so as to
touch the surface Th of a recess formed on tray T as shown in FIG.
9(c), the second protrusion 52d already pushes a convex part 53c of
the tray lock lever 53 to another level. Thus, the tray lock lever
53 rotates in direction of arrow E and "unlocks" trays T.
[0201] FIG. 10(a) explains the various locations of the boss
portion 52c of the trigger slide plate 52 from a "HOME" position Q1
to a "TRIGGER" position Q3 and from a "TRIGGER" position Q4 to a
"HOME" position Q7. At a neutral-line position, trigger slide plate
ribs 52f are in no stress condition. The stress increases as the
boss portion 52c of the trigger slide plate 52 travels from the
"HOME" position Q1 to the "TRIGGER" position Q3 through a
"TRANSITION" position Q2. FIG. 10(b) shows a side view of the
trigger slide plate 52.
[0202] At the "TRIGGER" position Q3, the trigger slide plate 52
starts to push trays T to engage them with the tray driving gear
unit 20. At end of moving sequence, the opening of the cam profile
allows the boss portion 52c to release the stress trigger slide
plate ribs 52f and return to the neutral condition. Thus, the boss
portion 52c of the trigger slide plate 52 can return to "HOME"
position following the other path to avoid its profile overlapping
with the trays T when the trays T return from the disc exchange
position X to the standby position Y.
[0203] At the "HOME" position Q7, bending stress start to increase
on the trigger slide plate rib 52f at the opposite direction
(towards the left). At a position Q8, the stressed trigger slide
plate ribs 52f is released after the trigger slide plate 52 moves
to an opening on the cam profile and return to its origin position
("HOME" position).
[0204] FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c) show the engagement and disengagement
of the tray driving gear unit 20 with the tray T. At an initial
condition (when the trays T are at standby position Y, before they
are triggered by the trigger slide plate 52), the gear rack Td is
not engaged with the tray driving gear unit 20. After the trays T
are triggered by the trigger slide plate 52, the trays T move
forward and the gear rack Td will engage with the tray driving gear
unit 20. Thus, all trays T will be driven forward at the same time
to the disc exchange position X.
[0205] For the return condition, the gear rack Td leaves the tray
driving gear unit 20 when it reaches the standby position Y. The
tray lock lever 53 will be pushed away by trigger rib Th as shown
in FIG. 12(b), at the time that the last gear tooth of the gear
rack Td leaves the tray driving gear units 20, and the tray lock
lever 53 rotates into the recess of tray rib as FIG. 12(a). The
contact of the locking profile 53a and a surface Tj of the recess
create an inter-lock effect to prevent trays T from moving towards
the disc exchange position X after reaching the standby position Y.
After all the trays reach to the standby position Y, the first
protrusion 52e of the trigger slide plate 52 will be pushed to the
lock lever rib 53b and aligns and locks the trays T at the standby
position Y as shown in FIG. 9(a).
[0206] FIG. 13(a) is an exploded view of the tray driving gear unit
20. The reference numeral 24 denotes a top tray drive gear which
drives the upper most tray T1, the reference numeral 22 denotes a
tray drive gear which drives trays T (T2-T4) other than the upper
most tray T1 and the lower most tray T5, the reference numeral 25
denotes a bottom tray drive gear which drives the lower most tray
T5. Further, the reference numeral 23 denotes a plastic ring
located between two drive gears adjacent to each other which
enables the drive gear 22, 24 or 25 to have a dummy turning, and
the reference numeral 21 denotes a shaft gear fixed to a shaft 21s
which holds all drive gears 22, 24, 25 and the plastic rings 23.
Top drive gear 24 is fitted to the shaft 21s in a tight fitting
condition and rotates as one solid body with it. FIG. 13(b) shows a
complete assembly of the tray driving gear unit 20. As seen from
FIG. 13(b), the plastic ring 23 is provided with stopper ribs 23a,
23b, the top tray drive gear 24 is provided with stopper ribs 24a,
24b.
[0207] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the tray driving gear unit
20 and a gear mechanism for driving it. As shown in FIG. 14, the
shaft gear 21 of the tray driving gear unit 20 is engaged with a
tray relay gear 112 which is driven by the cam gear 114. When cam
gear 114 rotates in a clockwise direction, the shaft gear 21 is
driven to rotate in the same direction. The top driving gear 24
also rotates in the same direction.
[0208] It is to be noted that a metal spring 26 having protrusions
26a is provided at a vicinity of tray driving gear unit 20. And,
the protrusions 26a of the metal spring 26 are touching to side
portions of tray drive gears 22 and 25, thereby friction force is
provided to the tray drive gears 22 and 25 so that they are held in
position before they are driven by actual force from a electric
motor 116 (described in more detail below with reference to FIG.
21).
[0209] FIGS. 15(a) to 15(g) show a "RESET" operation of the tray
driving gear unit 20. The "RESET" is to rotate all tray drive gears
22, 24 and 25 with the same rotational speed, as if they were one
solid gear which has a plurality of layers of drive gears 22, 24
and 25 capable of engaging a plurality of trays T. In this
explanation, only the top tray drive gear 24 and the adjacent lower
level tray drive gear 23 are explained because the "RESET" sequence
for the following tray drive gears is the same. FIGS. 16 and 17
show the tray driving gear unit 20 after driving all trays T to the
standby position Y.
[0210] In order to drive the trays T to the disc exchange position
X, the tray driving gear unit 20 needs to rotate in a clockwise
direction in the drawings. A tray relay gear 112 which is driven by
the cam gear 114 rotates to turn the shaft gear 21. Referring to
FIGS. 14 and 15(a), as the top tray drive gear 24 rotates together
with the shaft 21s in the clockwise direction, a side surface of
the stopper rib 24b on the top tray drive gear 24 will contact a
side surface of the stopper rib 23a (level 1) on the adjacent lower
level plastic ring 23 after about 1 round of rotation. Top tray
drive gear 24 and the plastic ring 23 rotate together and continue
the second rotation, until a side surface of the stopper rib 23b
(level 1) of the plastic ring 23 contacts to a side surface of the
stopper rib 23a (level 2) which is located 2 levels lower than top
tray drive gear 24.
[0211] FIGS. 15(e) and 15(f) are the top and isometric views of the
tray driving gear unit 20 without the top tray drive gear 24. When
a stopper rib 23a of the second level plastic ring 23 rotates, it
touches the stopper rib 22b on the next tray drive gear 22. This
tray drive gear 22 now will rotate in the same direction and speed
with top drive gear 24. The rotation continues until the bottom
tray drive gear 25 starts to rotate, at this time the tray driving
gear unit 20 is completely "RESET" as shown in FIG. 15(g). In this
condition, all gear teeth are aligned with each other and rotate as
one solid body gear.
[0212] FIG. 16 is a side view of tray driving gear unit 20 with
trays T at standby position Y. And, FIG. 17 is an enlarged
perspective view of tray driving gear unit 20 with trays T at
standby position Y. As explained above, the metal spring 26 having
protrusions 26a is provided at a vicinity of the tray driving gear
unit 20. The protrusions 26a of the metal spring 26 are touching
side portions of the tray drive gears 22 and 25, thereby friction
force is provided to the tray drive gears 22 and 25 so that they
are held in position before they are driven by actual force from
the motor 116.
[0213] FIGS. 18(a) to 18(d) show the operation of the tray driving
gear unit 20 for driving trays T to disc standby position Y, one by
one from top to bottom. Top tray drive gear 24 tightly fitted to
the shaft 21s at this time also starts to rotate among all tray
drive gears.
[0214] In order to drive trays T from the disc exchange position X
to the standby position Y, the tray driving gear unit 20 needs to
rotate in a counterclockwise direction in the drawings. This time,
the side surface of the stopper rib 24a after the first rotation
will contact the side surface of the stopper rib 23b (level 1) of
the plastic ring 23, thereby the tray T is driven from the disc
exchange position X to a half-way position between the disc
exchange position X and the standby position Y, because number of
plastic ring 23 used between the tray drive gears is two. The
second rotation continues until the stopper rib 23a (level 1)
contacts the stopper rib 23b (level 2). Top tray T1 is now
completely driven to the standby position Y. The second tray T2
will start to move when the stopper rib 23a (level 2) rotates and
pushes the stopper rib 22b on the lower tray drive gear 22.
[0215] FIG. 19(a) is a plan view of the disc changer 1, where the
top tray T1 has been driven by the top tray drive gear 24 to the
standby position Y and the second tray T2 is waiting for rotation
of tray driving gear unit 20 to move from the disc exchange
position X to the standby position Y. FIG. 19(b) shows the tray
driving gear unit 20 which engages with trays T. Top tray T1 moves
to the standby position Y and disengages from the tray drive gear
22 and other lower level trays T are at the disc exchange position
X. Closing of trays T will be performed from top to bottom.
[0216] FIGS. 20(a) to 20(c) are side views showing a sequence of
closing the top tray T1 from the disc exchange position X to the
disc standby position Y. FIG. 20(a) shows a state in which all
trays T are positioned at the disc exchange position X. It is to be
noted that the tray driving gear unit 20 is to rotate as one body
when it drives trays T to the disc exchange position X.
[0217] FIG. 20(b) shows a state in which the top tray T1 is closed
to half way between the disc exchange position X and the disc
standby position Y. It is performed by a first rotation of the tray
driving gear unit 20. FIG. 20(c) shows a state in which the top
tray T1 is fully closed to the disc standby position Y. It is
performed by a second rotation of the tray driving gear unit 20.
Thereafter, the second tray T2 will start to move, if the tray
driving gear unit 20 continues to rotate.
[0218] The plastic rings 23 in this design are useful for reducing
the size of the tray drive gears 22 by providing dummy rotation to
the drive gears. A first tray drive gear will rotate to close a
tray T just after the tray T disengages from the first tray drive
gear, and a stopper rib of the first tray drive gear will hit a
stopper rib of the plastic ring 23, so that a second tray drive
gear is rotated. This means that the first tray drive gear will
rotate by a degree of (360-2.theta.) (where angle .theta. is an
angle corresponding to a width of a stopper rib, as shown in FIG.
15(h) to drive the tray to disc standby position before the second
tray drive gear starts to rotate to drive a second tray T2.
[0219] If there were no plastic rings 23, the PCD (pitch circle
diameter) of drive gears of "D.sub.1" for a tray ejection stroke of
"y" would be given by the formula (1).
D.sub.1=[y/.pi.].times.[360/(360-2.theta.)] (1)
[0220] Since plastic rings 23 are used, the PCD (pitch circle
diameter) of drive gears of "D.sub.2" for a tray ejection stroke of
"y" will be given by the following formula (2). In this case, a
tray ejection stroke of "y" will consist of a stroke achieved by a
tray drive gear 22 and a stroke achieved by a plastic ring 23.
y=.pi.D.sub.2[(360-2.theta.)/360]+.pi.D.sub.2[(360-2.theta.)/360]=2.pi.D-
.sub.2[(360-2.theta.)/360]
D.sub.2=[1/2].times.[y/.pi.].times.[360/(360-2.theta.)] (2)
D.sub.2=[1/2]D.sub.1
[0221] Therefore, by using plastic rings 23 (dummy rings), the PCD
of tray drive gear 22 can be reduced by 1/2.
[0222] If "n" pieces of plastic rings 23 were used (as they might
be in other embodiments of the invention), the PCD (pitch circle
diameter) of drive gears of "Dn" for a tray ejection stroke of "y"
would be given by the following formula (3).
y=.pi.D.sub.2[(360-2.theta.)/360]+n{.pi.D.sub.2[(360-2.theta.)/360]}=(1+-
n).pi.D.sub.2[(360-2.theta.)/360]
Dn=[1/(1+n)].times.[y/.pi.].times.[360/(360-2.theta.)] (3)
Dn=[1/(1+n)]D.sub.1
[0223] With more plastic rings 23, the diameter of tray drive gear
22 can be reduced more.
[0224] Next, a driving mechanism of the disc changer 1 will be
explained.
[0225] FIG. 21 is a plan view showing a total layout of a driving
(gear) mechanism 100 in the disc changer 1 according to the
embodiment. FIG. 22 is a plan view showing the details of a main
part of FIG. 21.
[0226] In FIGS. 21 and 22, a reference character Z denotes a disc
recording/reproducing position, a reference character Y denotes a
disc standby position and a reference character X denotes the disc
exchange position. Also, a reference numeral 100 denotes a gear
mechanism of the disc changer 1 located at the disc standby
position Y.
[0227] In FIGS. 21, 22 and 23, a reference numeral 116 denotes an
electric motor which provides driving power to the gear mechanism.
The driving mechanism 100 includes a motor pulley 115, a belt 121,
a pulley gear 101, a first relay gear 102, a second relay gear 103
and a third relay gear 104. The second relay gear 103 is provided
on a back side of the pulley gear 101. The driving mechanism 100
also includes a switching gear 105, a long gear 106, a function
gear 107, a first UD gear 108, a second UD gear 109, a first play
gear 110 and a second play gear 111. Further, the driving mechanism
100 includes a main drive gear 113, a cam gear 114 and a tray relay
gear 112. All the drive gears are located inside the mechanical
chassis 3.
[0228] FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing a gear engagement
around a switching gear 105. Switching gear 105 always engages to
the third relay gear 104 and an up/down movement of the switching
gear 105 is performed by sliding along the third relay gear 104.
Each switching gear tooth 105a has a taper surface for easy
engagement to a long gear 106 and a main drive gear 113. The main
drive gear 113 has a coining profile 113a on each gear tooth for
easy engagement to the switching gear 105.
[0229] FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing a gear engagement
around a function gear 107. Function gear 107 always engages to the
long gear 106 and an up/down movement of the function gear 107 is
performed by sliding along the long gear 106. Each function gear
tooth 107b has a taper surface for easy engagement to a first UD
gear 108 and a first play gear 110. The first play gear has a
coining profile 110a on each gear tooth for easy engagement to the
function gear 107.
[0230] FIGS. 25(a) and 25(b) are schematic side views showing a
first gear train changing system by a switching gear 105. As shown
in FIG. 25(a), the switching gear 105 is supported by a plunger
lever 126. When an electric current is applied to a plunger unit
117, the plunger unit 17 pulls the plunger lever 126 by using a
moving core 118, and in this way the switching gear 105 will be
lifted up to engage with the long gear 106. On the other hand, when
no electric current is supplied to the plunger unit 117, the
switching gear 105 will be pushed down by a coil spring 119 and
engaged with the main drive gear 113, as shown in FIG. 25(b).
[0231] The operation of the driving mechanism 100 when the
switching gear 105 is at the lower position is to drive the
functions of a tray open/close system or selection system
(play/stock driving/elevation driving). On the other hand, the
operation of the driving mechanism 100 when the switching gear 105
is at the upper position is to drive the functions of a tray
play/stock system or an elevation system.
[0232] FIGS. 26(a) and 26(b) are schematic side views showing the
second gear train changing system by a function gear 107. As shown
in these drawings, the function gear 107 is supported by a function
lever 125. The round end portion 125a of the function lever 125
moves following to the outer profiles 114e and 114f at the lower
side of the cam gear 114. When cam gear 114 rotates and plan
profile 114e is touching the round end portion 125a of the function
gear 107, the function gear 107 is lifted up by the function lever
125. At this time, the function gear 107 is engaged with the first
UD gear 108 which will drive the elevation system. FIG. 26(b) shows
a flat surface 114f of the cam gear 114 touching the round end
portion 125a. In this state, the function gear 107 is pushed down
by the function lever 125, and the function gear 107 is engaged
with the first play gear 110 which will drive the tray play/stock
system.
[0233] FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a function lever 125 and a
function gear 107 of the disc changer 1 in an assembly condition.
Function lever 125 has a hook portion 125b which holds a gear body
107a of the function gear 107. With the configuration, function
lever 125 can always hold the function gear 107, and the function
gear 107 can move in a vertical direction by a motion of the
function lever 125.
[0234] FIG. 28(a) is a plan view showing a cam gear 114. And FIG.
28(b) is a perspective view showing the outer profiles 114e and
114f at the lower side of the cam gear 114. As shown in FIG. 28(a),
the gear teeth 114a of the cam gear 114 are engaged with the main
drive gear 113 and the tray relay gear 112. The cam gear 114 has
cam grooves 114b, 114c and 114d to create the rotational movements
of the trigger gear 51, the first lock lever 93 and the second lock
lever 94.
[0235] The outer profile 114e and 114f at the lower side of the cam
gear 114 is used to change the state of function lever 125. The
flat surface profile 114e allows the function gear 107 to engage to
perform an elevation driving function and the flat surface profile
114f allows the function gear 107 to engage to perform a tray
play/stock function. The cam gear 114 also has a sensor profile
114g for sensing changes of electronic sensor signal for indicating
the tray T condition when opening or closing.
[0236] In order to achieve single motor driving, the driving
mechanism 100 of the disc changer 1 has a switching mode as
explained by a block diagram shown in FIG. 29. Power supplied from
electric motor 116 is directed to the different gear train systems
(an elevation system, a tray play/stock system and a tray
open/close system) by using the switching gear 105 and the function
gear 107. The level of both gears is changed by using the plunger
unit 117 and the flat surface profiles 114e and 114f of the cam
gear 114.
[0237] FIG. 30 is a plan view showing a gear train of a tray
open/close system in the disc changer 1. This gear train drives
trays T between the disc exchange position X and the disc standby
position Y.
[0238] When the disc changer 1 operates to drive the gear train of
tray open/close system, a driving source gear train will connect to
the main drive gear 113. The driving source gear train is to
connect the driving source from the electrical motor 116 all the
way until the switching gear 105. The gear train is from cam gear
114, tray relay gear 112 and then to tray driving gear unit 20
through a shaft gear 21. The tray driving gear unit 20 is designed
such that it can drive all trays T from the standby position Y to
disc exchange position X at once.
[0239] FIGS. 31(a) to 31(d) are plan views showing the sequence of
tray opening operations which are mainly controlled by cam gear
114. The tray open/close system includes the triggering section 50
and tray driving gear unit 20. The triggering section 50 comprises
a trigger gear 51, a trigger slide plate 52 and a tray lock lever
53. When the disc changer 1 is operated to drive the tray
open/close system, the cam gear 114 rotates in clockwise direction
to move a tray T to disc exchange position X (open), or rotates in
counter clock-wise to move a tray T to disc standby position Y
(close). In the case of opening the trays T, at the time the cam
gear 114 rotates, the tray driving gear unit 20 rotates to "RESET"
all the drive gears in order to rotate as one body, and the cam
profile 114b at the same time pushes the trigger gear 51 to rotate
to drive the trigger slide plate 52.
[0240] FIG. 31(a) shows the state at the instant that the tray
open/close system starts to move. The tray lock lever 53 in this
state locks all trays T and tray drive gear unit 20 is not engaged
with the trays T. FIGS. 31(b) and 31(c) show states in which the
cam gear 114 is being driven by the gear train of tray open/close
system and the rotation of the cam gear 114 will move the trigger
slide plate 52 through a trigger gear 51. During the movement of
the trigger slide plate 52, it unlocks the tray lock lever 53 to
release the trays T. FIG. 31(c) shows a state in which the trays T
are pushed to engage the tray driving gear unit 20. FIG. 31(d)
shows a state in which all trays T are driven to the disc exchange
position X by the tray driving gear unit 20. The tray T closing is
carried out by reversing the tray opening operation. Trays T will
close one by one from top to bottom.
[0241] FIGS. 32(a) and 32(b) are perspective views showing the
trigger gear 51 and the trigger slide plate 53. In the state shown
in FIGS. 32(a) and 32(b), a boss 51a (see FIG. 7) of trigger gear
51 is inserted into a cam groove 114b of cam gear 114 and driven by
a profile of the cam groove 114b. The cam groove profile 114b on
cam gear 114 is the control path for the trigger gear 51 movement.
Gear teeth 51b on trigger gear 51 constantly engage a rack gear 52b
of the trigger slide plate 52. The trigger gear 51 rotates around
its supporting boss 51c which is held by a boss 120a of a pitch
plate 120. A boss 51a of the trigger gear 51 is moved by the cam
groove 114b. Thus, when the cam gear 114 rotates, a motion of cam
groove 114b is transmitted to the trigger slide plate 52 by trigger
gear 51 and allows the trigger slide plate 52 to move in a linear
way.
[0242] FIG. 33 is a plan view showing a gear train of an elevation
system in the disc changer 1. This gear train operates in order to
move the recording/reproducing section 70 in vertical direction and
then align it to specific a tray T.
[0243] When the disc changer 1 is operated to drive the gear train
of the elevation system, the driving source gear train transfers
the driving source from electrical motor 116 to a long gear 106, a
function gear 107, a first UD gear 108 and a second UD gear 109.
The driving source gear train transfers the driving source from
electrical motor 116 to all the way until switching gear 105. The
gear train of the elevation system then will drive an elevating
unit 30 for moving the recording/reproducing section 70 in vertical
direction.
[0244] FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing the components of the
elevation unit. A right side UD rack 32 and a left side UD rack 31
are connected to each other by one connection lever 33. The
elevation unit is used to move the recording/reproducing section 70
in a vertical direction by connecting to the gear train of the
elevation system. The driving source is transferred by gear teeth
109a of a second UD gear 109 to a gear rack 32b of the right side
UD rack 32. There is a step-like cam 32a and 31a on each UD rack 32
and UD rack 31. The step-like cams 32a, 31a have a cam profile
similar to steps in a side view.
[0245] The cam profiles of the step-like cams 32a and 31a direct
the movement of the recording/reproducing section 70. The bosses 5a
provided on the side of a UD base 5 sit in the cam profile 32a, 31a
of UD racks 32, 31 and they are supported by left guides 3b and a
right guide rib 3c of the mechanical chassis 3. When the UD racks
32, 31 are moving linearly forward or backward, the
recording/reproducing section 70 moves in vertical direction. UD
rack 32 is connected to UD rack 31 to create synchronous movement
by means of the connection lever 33. A boss 32c of the right side
UD rack 32 is fitted into a slot 33a of the connection lever 33.
Also, a boss 31b of the left side UD rack 31 is fitted into a slot
33b of the connection lever 33 on the opposite side.
[0246] FIG. 35 is a side view showing the step-like cam profile 32a
on the right side UD rack 32. The step-like cam 32a has horizontal
portions 32a-1 to 32a-5 which correspond to the positions or levels
of the recording/reproducing section 70 that align to tray T. The
level of 32a-1 to 32a-5 is determined by an electrical sensor using
the sensor profile 32d.
[0247] FIGS. 36(a) and 36(b) are perspective views respectively
showing the recording/reproducing section 70 at an upper most
position (for tray T1) and an lower most position (for tray T5).
For elevating the recording/reproducing section 70 to the upper
position, the right side UD rack 32 is driven by the gear train of
elevation system in the forward direction. This movement will be
transferred, by the connection lever 33 supported pivotally by the
boss 120b of the pitch plate 120, to the left side UD rack 31.
Consequently, the left side UD rack 31 will move in the rear
direction. For moving the recording/reproducing section 70 to the
lower position, the moving direction of both UD racks 32, 31 are
opposite to the above.
[0248] FIG. 37 is a plan view showing a gear train of the tray
play/stock system in a disc changer 1. This gear train drives trays
T between the disc recording/reproducing position Z and the disc
standby position Y.
[0249] When the disc changer 1 operates the drive gear train of the
tray play/stock system, the driving source gear train transfers the
driving source from electrical motor 116 to a long gear 106, a
function gear 107, a first play gear 110 and a second play gear
111. The gear train of the tray play/stock system then will drive a
tray driving rack unit 60 which is capable of moving trays T
between the recording/reproducing position Z and the disc standby
position Y.
[0250] FIGS. 38(a) and 38(b) are plan views showing the movement of
driving trays T between the disc standby position Y and the
recording/reproducing position Z.
[0251] After the recording/reproducing section 70 is aligned to a
selected tray T level, the tray T can be driven between the disc
recording/reproducing position Z and the disc standby position Y by
the tray driving rack unit 60.
[0252] FIG. 39 is a perspective view showing the components of the
tray driving rack unit 60. The tray driving rack unit 60 has a tray
catch lever 61, a first play lever 62, a second play lever 63, a
tray drive rack 64 and a transverse slide plate 65. When there are
no trays T at the recording/reproducing position 2 and all trays T
are at the standby position Y, the gear train of tray stock/play
system is connected by the second play gear 111 to the tray drive
rack 64 through the gear engagement of a rack gear 64a and gear
teeth 111a of the second play gear. When the second play gear 111
rotates in the clock-wise direction, tray T is driven to
recording/reproducing position Z.
[0253] FIG. 40(a) is a perspective view showing the assembled state
of the tray driving rack unit 60, and FIG. 40(b) is an enlarged
perspective view showing a substantial part of the tray driving
rack unit 60. Further, FIG. 41(a) is a perspective view showing the
assembled state of the tray catch lever 61 and the tray drive rack
64, FIG. 41(b) is a plan view showing the assembled state of the
tray catch lever 61 and the tray drive rack 64, and FIG. 41(c) is a
sectional view taken along line L41-L41 in FIG. 41(b).
[0254] As shown in FIGS. 40(a) and 40(b), the tray catch lever 61
is inserted into a guide slot 5g formed in a side wall 5w of the UD
base 5, and guided by the guide slot 5g. The tray drive rack 64 is
mounted on the mechanical chassis 3 and moves in a horizontal
(front to back) direction between the disc recording/reproducing
position Z and the disc standby position Y. Also, the tray catch
lever 61 can move in vertical (up/down) direction by an up/down
movement of the UD base 5 between the level of tray T1 and the
level of tray T5. The tray driving rack unit 60 uses the tray drive
rack 64 and the tray catch lever 61 to move the tray T between the
disc standby position Y and the disc recording/reproducing position
Z. The tray drive rack 64 moves the second play lever 63 and then
the first play lever 62 to trigger the transverse slide plate 65 to
complete the clamping operation by the clamper unit 10.
[0255] The tray drive rack 64 supported on the mechanical chassis 3
moves in a horizontal direction at the lowest level in the
mechanical chassis 3. With this configuration, the tray drive rack
64 is able to have stable and constant support. This ensures a
stable movement of the tray T between the disc
recording/reproducing position Z and the disc standby position Y
especially when the tray T contains a disc D. Although the tray
drive rack 64 moves in the horizontal direction, it is not required
for the tray drive rack 64 to move in a vertical (up/down)
direction when the tray T is selected. This reduces the space
needed to accommodate the tray drive rack 64 since it is not
required to provide extra space for up/down movement of the tray
drive rack 64. Thus, the space over the tray drive rack 64 can be
used for other purposes, such as mounting of gears. Alternatively,
the size of the disc changer 1, and especially disc changer height,
can be reduced.
[0256] As shown in detail in FIG. 40(b), when the
recording/reproducing section 70 (UD base 5) is positioned at the
level of the uppermost tray T1, an opening 62a provided on the
first play lever 62 will move by sliding on a shaft 63b of the
second play lever 63 during tray selection. The shaft 63b has a
smooth surface to achieve a smooth sliding between the opening 62a
and the shaft 63b during the tray selection by the
recording/reproducing section 70.
[0257] Further, as shown in FIGS. 41(a) to 41(c), the tray catch
lever 61 has a thru-hole 61a and the tray drive rack 64 is provided
with a long shaft 64b. This long shaft 64b is inserted into the
thru-hole 61a, and the tray catch lever 61 is thereby supported by
the long shaft 64b. Tray catch lever 61 is moved in horizontal
(front to back) direction by a horizontal movement of the tray
drive rack 64. The gear rack 64a of tray drive rack 64 is engaged
with the second play gear 111 and driven by it to move between the
disc standby position Y and the disc recording/reproducing position
Z. The movement of tray drive rack 64 will also move the tray catch
lever 61.
[0258] FIG. 42 is a perspective view showing the tray drive rack 64
and the tray catch lever 61 engaging with trays T in disc standby
position Y. Further, FIG. 43(a) is a plan view showing the tray
drive rack 64 and the tray catch lever 61 engaging with trays T in
disc standby position Y, FIG. 43(b) is a sectional view taken along
line L43-L43 in FIG. 43(a), and FIG. 43(c) is an enlarged sectional
view showing a fitting portion of the tray catch lever 61 which is
connected to the long shaft 64b of the tray drive rack 64.
[0259] As explained above, the tray catch lever 61 is supported on
the recording/reproducing section 70 (UD base 5: Up/Down base) and
moves on it. There is a catch protrusion 61b on top of the tray
catch lever 61, and the catch protrusion 61b is use to pull a tray
T to travel between the disc standby position Y and the disc
recording/reproducing position Z. The actual driving force is
transmitted from the tray drive rack 64 to the catch lever 61
through the long shaft 64b of the tray drive rack 64. UD base 5
brings the tray catch lever 61 into alignment with the selected
tray T in an up/down direction during the tray selecting operation.
There is no need of any additional driving gear train for the tray
selection operation.
[0260] As clearly shown in FIG. 43(c), a round ring protrusion 61c
is provided on an inner surface of the thru-hole 61a of the tray
catch lever 61, in order to maintain the contact between the outer
surface of the long shaft 64b of the tray drive rack 64 and the
inner surface of the thru-hole 61a of the tray catch lever 61. The
round ring protrusion 61c has a smooth surface. By this
configuration, it is possible to achieve a good contact without
excessive frictional force being generated during a tray driving
operation. Further, a round ring protrusion 61d having a smooth
surface is provided on an outer surface of the tray catch lever
61.
[0261] FIG. 44(a) is a plan view showing the tray driving rack unit
60 assembled to UD base 5, FIG. 44(b) is a sectional view taken
along line L44-L44 in FIG. 44(a), and FIG. 44(c) is an enlarged
sectional view showing the fitting portion of the tray catch lever
61 connected to the guide slot 5g of the side wall 5w of UD base
5.
[0262] As explained above, the tray catch lever 61 is inserted into
the guide slot 5g formed in the side wall 5w of the UD base 5, and
movement of the tray catch lever 61 in the horizontal direction is
guided by the guide slot 5g.
[0263] As clearly shown in FIG. 44(c), the round ring protrusion
61d provided on an outer surface of the tray catch lever 61, and
maintains a good contact to the side wall 5w of the UD base 5, so
that a contact with minimum friction is achieved. Further, a pair
of rounded protrusions 5e having smooth surface are provided on
upper inside edges of the guide slot 5g. The tray catch lever 61 is
supported by the rounded protrusions 5e. By this configuration, it
is possible to achieve a good sliding contact without excessive
frictional force being generated during a tray driving operation in
which the tray drive rack 64 drives a tray T between the disc
standby position Y and the disc recording/reproducing position
Z.
[0264] According to the embodiment, two separate parts (the tray
catch lever 61 and the tray drive rack 64) are used to drive the
tray T. These two parts make it possible for the height of the
shaft profile to be reduced by half. This configuration remarkably
facilitates the control of straightness of the parts. With the
separated design for tray catch lever 61, the tray catch lever 61
is mounted on the recording/reproducing section 70 and supported on
UD base 5 in a stable manner. This configuration provides a
stronger construction to the driving mechanism. The
recording/reproducing section 70 can align the tray catch lever 61
to the selected tray T in a vertical movement with a constant pitch
and in a more accurate manner. Furthermore, the outer surface of
the tray catch lever 61 also has a round ring surface which touches
a wall of UD base 5.
[0265] FIGS. 45(a) to 45(d) are enlarged plan views showing a
sequence in which the tray catch lever 61 moves to drive trays T
from the disc standby position Y to the recording/reproducing
position Z. FIG. 45(a) shows a state in which the tray catch lever
61 is away from tray T at the disc standby position Y. The UD base
5 supports the tray catch lever 61 as it moves in a vertical
direction to align itself with the tray T which needs to be driven
to the recording/reproducing position Z.
[0266] The tray drive rack 64 moves backward when the second play
gear 111 rotates in a clock-wise direction as shown in FIGS. 45(b)
and 45(c), and as this happens the boss 64b on tray drive rack 64
pulls the tray catch lever 61 thru the hole 61a. As the tray catch
lever 61 moves backward, the catch profile (concave portion) 61b
rotates to fit into hook profile Tg of the tray T. The rotation of
tray catch lever 61 is due to the cam groove 61c on the lower
surface of tray catch lever 61 and a small boss 5b on UD base 5.
The rotation of tray catch lever 61 is caused by the cam groove 61c
fitted to the small boss 5b. Subsequently, the tray T will be moved
to the disc recording/reproducing position Z by tray driving rack
unit 60 as shown in FIG. 45(d).
[0267] FIGS. 46(a) to 46(d) are enlarged plan views showing a
sequence of an operation performed by the tray driving rack unit
60. FIG. 46(a) shows an initial position when the tray drive rack
64 and the tray catch lever 61 are positioned in the disc standby
position Y. In this state, the second play gear 111 engages the
rack gear 64a of tray drive rack 64, and the rack gear 65b of
transverse slide plate does not engage the second play gear 111.
FIG. 46(b) shows how a boss 64c of the tray drive rack 64 is moved
into an opening 63a of the second play lever 63 before the end of
movement of tray drive rack 64. When tray drive rack 64 continues
to move backward, the second play lever 63 will be pushed by the
boss 64c of tray drive rack 64 and rotates, and the boss 63b of the
second play lever 63 pushes the opening 62a of the first play lever
62.
[0268] Further, a boss 62b of the first play lever 62 which is
inserted into a cam profile 65c of the transverse slide plate 65
rotates and pushes the taper surface of the cam profile 65a.
Transverse slide plate 65 is pushed to move to the right and the
first gear tooth of the rack gear 65a will engage the gear teeth
111a of the second play gear 111 as shown in FIG. 46(c). The
driving source will now be transferred to the transverse slide
plate 65, and this slide plate 65 is driven to the right until it
detects a switch that marks the completion of disc clamping
operation as shown in FIG. 46(d).
[0269] The operation for driving the tray from disc
recording/reproducing position Z to disc standby position Y is the
reverse of the above. The driving source will be transferred from
the second play gear 111 to transverse slide plate 65. The cam
profile 65a of the transverse slide plate 65 triggers rotational
motion of the first play lever 62, and then the second play lever
63 which will pull the tray drive rack 64 to engage to the second
play gear 111. Tray drive rack 64 will pull tray catch lever 61
that hooks to tray T. When tray T reaches the disc standby position
Y, the tray catch lever 61 will come out from hook profile Tg and
rotates in a counter clock-wise direction back to its original
position. The rotation is same achieved by cam groove 61c and the
boss 5b of the UD base boss 5 as shown in FIG. 45(b)
[0270] FIGS. 47(a) and 47(b) to FIGS. 51 (a) and 51(b) show a
sequence in which the tray T moves from the standby position Y to
the recording/reproducing position Z. FIG. 47(a) is a bottom view
of the tray T before it is stopped at the recording/reproducing
position Z by a stopper 5d on UD bases, and FIG. 47(b) is an
enlarged bottom view of the tray catch lever 61 in FIG. 47(a).
Also, FIG. 48(a) is a plan view of the tray T when it has been
stopped at the recording/reproducing position by the stopper 5d on
UD base 5, and FIG. 48(b) is an enlarged plan view of the tray
catch lever 61 in FIG. 48(a). Further, FIG. 49(a) is a bottom view
of the tray T when it has been stopped at the recording/reproducing
position by the stopper 5d on UD base 5, and FIG. 49(b) is an
enlarged bottom view of the tray catch lever 61 in FIG. 49(a).
Still further, FIG. 50(a) is a plan view of the tray T in a
condition where the tray catch lever 61 moves further after tray T
is stopped at the recording/reproducing position Z, and FIG. 50(b)
is an enlarged plan view of the tray catch lever 61 in FIG. 50(a).
Still further, FIG. 51(a) is a bottom view of the tray T in a
condition where the tray catch lever 61 moves further after tray T
is stopped at the recording/reproducing position Z, and FIG. 51(b)
is an enlarged bottom view of the tray catch lever 61 in FIG.
51(a).
[0271] As shown in FIGS. 48(a) to 49(b), when the tray T hits the
stopper 5d at the recording/reproducing position Z, the tray T will
stop at the position where the center of the tray T is aligned with
the center of the turn table 9.
[0272] As shown in FIGS. 47(a) to 48(b), the tray T moves in
direction parallel to long sliding rib 5p. And as shown in FIGS.
48(a) to 51(b), the tray drive rack 64 moves further after tray T
is stopped at the recording/reproducing position Z (this is
referred to here as an "over stroke" configuration), and it will
also try to move the tray catch lever 61. As the tray T is stopped
at the recording/reproducing position Z, the tray catch lever 61
will rotate in a direction along with a rib 5r. With this
condition, the tray T can always stop at an accurate position, and
the tray catch lever 61 and tray drive rack 64 will not be stressed
or bent by the over-stroke.
[0273] As explained above, the tray catch lever 61 rotates away
from tray's hook profile Tg when it is driven by the tray drive
rack 64 to the disc standby position Y, and when the tray drive
rack 64 moves the tray catch lever 61 backward to the direction of
the disc recording/reproducing position Z, the tray catch lever 61
rotates into tray's hook profile Tg and drives the tray T.
[0274] According to the embodiment, by using a cam profile of UD
base 5 and a cam profile 61c of the tray catch lever 61, the tray
catch lever 61 can rotate and move away from the tray T once the
tray T is moved to the disc standby position Y. This configuration
creates, at the disc standby position Y, a condition in which the
tray catch lever 61 is not engaged with the tray's hook Tg. Tray T
is not just able to be driven to the disc recording/reproducing
position Z, but can also be driven from the standby position Y to
the disc exchanging position X at any time, even when the tray
catch lever 61 is aligned to the selected tray T.
[0275] Also, according to the embodiment, the tray catch lever 61
can be put into the over stroke configuration when the tray T
reaches the recording/reproducing position Z. When the tray T hits
the stopper 5d corresponding to the recording/reproducing position
Z, the tray drive rack 64 can still move further. This ensures that
the tray T will always stop before the tray drive rack 64
stops.
[0276] The exact location within the recording/reproducing position
Z at which the tray T stops important. It should be at the center
of turn table 9, in order to make possible a stable and accurate
disc clamping operation. For this reason, the movement of the tray
T from the disc standby position Y to the recording/reproducing
position Z benefits from the over stroke design. This will ensure
the tray T can hit the stopper 5d and stop at a well-defined
position in the recording/reproducing position Z. With the
separation of the tray drive rack 64 and the tray catch lever 61,
the tray drive rack 64 can move further after the tray T hits the
stopper 5d. At this time, the tray catch lever 61 can rotate by
some angle in order to avoid stressing the shaft profile 64b of the
tray drive rack 64.
[0277] In the embodiment, a simple trigger construction is used to
achieve gear engagement between the tray drive rack 64 and the
transverse slide plate 65. A second play lever 63 is rotated to
push the first play lever 62 when the tray drive rack 64 reaches
the disc recording/reproducing position Z. A boss profile 62b of
the first play lever 62 is then pushed to the transverse slide
plate 65 to engage the second play gear 111. The second play lever
63 is fixed to the mechanical chassis 3 while the first play lever
62 is fixed on UD base 5.
[0278] In the embodiment, the first play lever 62 is fixed on UD
base 5 in order that it can move with the recording/reproducing
section 70 and have a stable connection to the transverse slide
plate 65. The second play lever 63 which has a long shaft 63b is
fixed to the mechanical chassis 3 in order to ensure a stable
connection between the tray drive rack 64 and the first play lever
62. An opening 62a of the first play lever 62 slides on the shaft
63b of the second play lever 63 when the recording/reproducing
section 70 operates for selecting a tray. With these
configurations, a transfer motion between the tray drive rack 64
and the transverse slide plate 65 can be done with minimum force
loss as part of a loading or unloading operation.
[0279] As explained above, the tray driving rack unit 60 is
provided with the cylindrical tray catch lever 61 and the tray
drive rack 64 having the vertical long shaft 64b which is inserted
into the tray catch lever 61. The try catch lever 61 is supported
by UD (up/down) base 5 and capable of moving in the up/down
(vertical) direction. According to a movement of the tray drive
rack 64, the tray catch lever 61 is capable of holding and moving a
selected tray T between the disc standby position Y and the disc
recording/reproducing position Z. In other words, the mechanism for
permitting movement of the tray catch lever 61 consists of two
separate parts (the cylindrical part of the tray catch lever 61 and
the shaft profile 64b) which are capable of sliding in vertical
direction relative to each other, so it can easily deal with a
plurality of trays T aligned in vertical direction. The tray drive
rack 64 does not need to move in the vertical direction but needs
to move only in horizontal direction. This simplifies the
construction of the disc changer 1, and also reduces the height
thereof.
[0280] When the tray catch lever 61 is moved to a selected tray T
by a movement of tray drive rack 64, the tray catch lever 61 is
rotated at a position corresponding to the disc standby position Y
and thereby engages the selected tray T, and moves while engaged
with the selected tray T. Further, the tray catch lever 61 is
rotated by a movement of tray drive rack 64 when it returns to the
position corresponding to the disc standby position Y. Thereby, the
engagement between the catch lever 61 and the selected tray T is
released, and at this stage the tray catch lever 61 serves as a
stopper for the tray T.
[0281] The tray catch lever 61 has a cylindrical body for fitting
with the long shaft 64d of the tray drive rack 64, and a round ring
protrusion 61c with a smooth surface is formed on the inner surface
of the cylindrical body. That is, the inner surface of the
cylindrical body of the catch lever 61 contacts the round ring
protrusion 61c. This configuration can minimize the contact area
between them, and thereby it is capable of achieving a smooth
relative motion of the two parts, even if the cylindrical body of
the catch lever 61 declines by a certain degrees against the long
shaft 64d of the tray drive rack.
[0282] FIGS. 52 and 53 are side views respectively showing clamper
unit 10 in unclamping and clamping conditions. The transverse unit
6 in the disc recording/reproducing unit section 70 is supported by
UD base 5 and transverse slide plate 65. Two of the side bosses 6a
at the rear side of the transverse unit 6 are mounted to hook
profiles. And bosses 6b at the front side of the transverse unit 6
(refer to FIG. 39) are mounted into the cam profile 65c of
transverse slide plate 65 (refer to FIG. 39). With the pivot at
rear side, the transverse unit 6 will rotate to a clamping position
when the transverse side plate 65 moves from the left side to the
right side, and to a unclamping position when transverse side plate
65 moves from the right side to the left side.
[0283] At the time of clamping, a clamper support plate 11 is
pushed downward to a turn table 9 in order to place the clamper
unit 10 to the turn table 9. With the lifting of clamper unit 10 by
clamper support plate 11 at the time of unclamping, tray T can have
more gap when it moves to recording/reproducing position Z. The
movement of clamper support plate 11 is controlled by the movement
of bosses 6b of the transverse unit 6.
[0284] In the unclamping condition, a rib 6c of the transverse unit
6 touches a rib 11a of the clamper support plate 11. The clamper
support plate 11 is lifted away from the turn table 9 and clamper
unit 10 is at its upper position. In the clamping condition, the
other side of the rib 6c of the transverse unit 6 touches the other
side of the rib 11a of clamper support plate 11. This brings down
the clamper support plate 11 and also clamper unit 10. The clamper
unit 10 now is sitting on turn table 9 and able to rotate freely
with the turn table 9.
[0285] FIG. 54 shows a locking system for trays T at the disc
standby position Y. The locking system uses a triggering system 50
that consists of a trigger gear 51, a trigger slide plate 52 and
tray lock levers 53.
[0286] FIGS. 55(a) and 55(b) are respectively a top view and an
isometric view of the tray lock levers 53. Each tray lock lever 53
includes a first protrusion 53a, a stopper rib 53b, a second
protrusion 53c and a plastic spring 53d. The first protrusion 53a
provides an "inter-locking" effect to tray T. The stopper rib 53b
is to ensure a stable locking state to tray T. The second
protrusion 53c is a profile which is used to unlock the tray T from
the tray lock lever 53. The plastic spring 53d is to provide a
spring effect to the tray lock lever 53, and to ensure that the
position of the first protrusion 53a is correct, in order to create
a stable locking effect when the stopper rib 53b is not touching a
locking profile of the trigger slide plate 52.
[0287] The lock/unlock operation is carried out simultaneously in a
tray triggering and opening operation. It can be referred to as
part of the operation to drive a tray T to the disc exchange
position X.
[0288] FIG. 56 (discussed in more detail below) is a diagram
showing a relationship between cam gear 114 positions and locking
types of the tray T. FIG. 57(a) to 57(c) are enlarged plan views
showing tray lock levers 53 in locking trays T at standby position
Y. FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the disc changer from the front
side in a state in which the trays T are locked at the standby
position Y. The trays T at the standby position Y are locked by
tray lock lever 53 from going to front position (disc exchange
position X) at any time of operation except when trays T are driven
to the disc exchange position X (open tray operation). This is a
shipment locking position where the trays T are locked in a
permanent manner at the disc standby position Y, and the disc
changer 1 at all times carries out operations to lock tray T at the
shipment locking position after any operation (such as driving tray
T between disc standby position Y and disc recording/reproducing
position Z or driving the recording/reproducing unit 70 moving
up/down to select tray T).
[0289] In other states, the trays T are in held in the locking
condition by the "inter-locking" profile of tray T and the tray
lock lever 53. FIG. 46 shows a timing chart when the cam gear 114
rotates from "HOME" position to disc exchange position X and types
of locking condition of the tray lock lever 53 and trigger slide
plate 52. For type A shown in FIG. 57(a), the first protrusion 53a
of tray lock lever 53 is being pushed toward the surfaces Tk and Tm
of the tray T by the first protrusion 52e of the trigger slide
plate 52. This creates a strong stable locking condition in which
the trays T cannot move to any position. For type B shown in FIG.
57(b), the trigger slide plate 52 moves toward the front side and
the first protrusion 52e of the trigger slide plate 52 is away from
the first protrusion 53a of tray lock lever 53, so the locking is
only by "inter-locking" between tray T and tray lock lever 53.
[0290] The plastic spring 53d is touching a wall of mechanical
chassis 3 and tray lock lever 53 is not able to rotate to unlock
direction. At this time, the trays T are not able to move to the
front side (disc exchange position X) but the tray T which is
aligned to the tray catch lever 61 (the selected tray T to be
driven to recording/reproducing section 70) can move to the rear
side (disc recording/reproducing position Z) if it is pulled by
tray driving rack unit 60. Regarding to the other trays T, they are
blocked by either tray rear stopper 95 or a wall of UD base wall as
shown in FIG. 58. An unlock period only happens before the trays T
triggering, when the tray lock lever unlock profile 53c is being
pushed by the second protrusion 52d of the trigger side plate 52
and the tray is unlocked for a short period so that it can be
pushed by trigger slide plate 52 to engage with the tray driving
gear unit 20.
[0291] FIG. 59 is a perspective view of the disc changer 1 from the
rear side in a state in which the trays T are locked at the stand
by position Y. The recording/reproducing section 70 and tray catch
lever 61 are aligned to the tray T3, and in this state the trays
T1, T2 are locked in standby position Y by tray lock lever 53 and
tray rear stopper 95. Trays T4 and T5 are locked in the standby
position Y by tray lock lever 53 and UD base wall and rib 5d. The
rear side of selected tray T3 is stopped by a concave portion 61b
of the tray catch lever 61. When tray catch lever 61 is rotated and
the concave portion 61b goes into tray hook portion Tg, the tray T3
can be driven to the disc recording/reproducing position Z.
[0292] FIG. 60 is a plan view showing the locking system at the
recording/reproducing section 70. One portion of the locking system
is for the transverse unit 6 and the tray driving rack unit 60, and
another portion of the locking system is for the
recording/reproducing section 70. The locking system is to ensure
that the disc changer 1 can sustain external vibration and impact
which can cause the disc changer 1 malfunction while transportation
or mishandling. The locking system ensures that there is no
position shift and dislocation of parts, by holding each part
securely with a locking device. The locking device used to achieve
this function is a first lock lever 93 for locating the transverse
unit 6 and tray driving rack unit 60, and a second lock lever 94
for locking the whole recording/reproducing section 70.
[0293] Both of lock levers 93, 94 are controlled by cam grooves
114c, 114d of the cam gear 114 and pivot on pitch plate boss. One
end of both lock levers 93, 94 have bosses that insert into the cam
grooves 114c, 114d and the other end have special locking
protrusions that create maximum locking effect when they engage the
profile on a second play gear 111 and a second UD gear 109.
[0294] FIGS. 61(a) and 61(b) are perspective views showing a first
lock lever 93 and a second play gear 111 in a locking condition. A
hook portion 93a of the first lock lever 93 engages with a gear
tooth 111a of the second play gear 111 to lock the tray play/stock
gear train. A taper profile 93c on the hook portion 93a of the
first lock lever 93 and a taper profile 111c on the gear tooth 111a
of the second play gear 111 create an inter-locking effect. These
configurations provide a strong locking condition to the tray
play/stock system gear train.
[0295] FIGS. 62(a) and 62(b) are a plan view and a perspective view
showing the first lock lever 93 as a locking device of the disc
changer 1 in two conditions. These drawings show the first lock
lever 93 in a state where a hook portion 93a of the first lock
lever 93 engages with a gear tooth 111a of a second play gear 111,
thereby locking the second play gear 111. At this time, gear teeth
111a are engaged with a rack gear 64a of a tray drive rack 64. This
condition will happen when the tray drive rack 64 is at standby
position Y and no trays T are at disc recording/reproducing
position Z.
[0296] FIGS. 63(a) and 63(b) are a plan view and a perspective view
showing the first lock lever 93. These drawings also show the first
lock lever 93 in a state where a hook portion 93a of the first lock
lever 93 engages with a gear tooth 111a of the second play gear
111, thereby locking the second play gear 111. At this time, gear
teeth 111a engage a rack gear 65a of a transverse slide plate 65.
This condition will happen when the tray drive rack 64 drives a
tray T to the disc recording/reproducing position Z and the
transverse slide plate 65 moves to clamp the disc to conduct disc
recording/reproducing.
[0297] FIG. 64(a) is a plan view showing a locking state of the
first lock lever 93. In this condition, a boss 93b of the first
lock lever 93 fits into a cam gear groove 114c located in a first
range 114c-1 of the cam gear groove 114c where the first lock lever
93 is directed to rotate in a lock direction. FIG. 64(b) is a plan
view showing an unlocking condition of the first lock lever 93. In
this condition, the boss 93b is located at a second position 114c-2
of the cam gear groove 114c where the first lock lever 93 is
directed to rotate in an unlock direction. There is only one
portion 114c-2 on cam gear groove 114c, where the same position is
used to change the state of function lever 125.
[0298] FIG. 65 is a perspective view showing a state of the locking
system in which the cam gear 114 rotates to a position for
unlocking the first lock lever 93. In this state, the position of a
function lever 125 is changed in order to drive a gear train of a
tray play/stock system (a tray driving rack unit).
[0299] FIG. 66 is a plan view showing a second lock lever 94 as a
locking device in the disc changer 1. In the state shown in FIG.
56, a protruded portion 94a of the second lock lever 94 engages a
locking profile 109b of a second UD gear and locks the second UD
gear 109. At this time, gear teeth 109a engage a rack gear 32b of
UD rack 32. This condition will happen after the
recording/reproducing section 70 complete the up/down movement to
select a tray T for driving to the recording/reproducing position
Z.
[0300] FIG. 67 is a perspective view showing the second lock lever
94 and the second UD gear 109 in an unlocked condition. A protruded
portion 94a of the second lock lever 94 enters into a locking
profile 109b of the second UD gear 109 to lock the elevation gear
train. The second UD gear 109 has a taper portion 109c for reliable
engagement with the protruded portion 94a of the second lock lever
94 and alignment of the second UD gear 109.
[0301] FIG. 68(a) is a plan view showing a locking state of the
second lock lever 94. In this state, a boss 94b of the second lock
lever 94 fits into a cam gear groove 114d located at a first range
114d-1 of the cam gear groove 114d where the second lock lever 94
is directed to rotate in a lock direction. FIG. 58(b) is a plan
view showing an unlocking state of the second lock lever 94. In
this state, the boss 94b is located at a second position 114d-2 of
the cam gear groove 114d where the second lock lever 94 is directed
to rotate in an unlock direction. There is only one portion 114d-2
on cam gear groove 114d, where the same position is used to change
the state of function lever 125.
[0302] FIG. 69 is a plan view of a cam gear 114 explaining an
operation thereof when it rotates in a clockwise and a
counter-clockwise direction. Rotational motion of the cam gear 114
starts from a HOME position, and the cam gear 114 will rotate in a
clock-wise direction to RESET the tray driving gear unit 20 in
position A. The trays T do not move during this operation. From the
HOME position, the cam gear 114 rotates in the clockwise direction
to a PLAY DRIVING position to change the level of function lever
126 from a level for engaging to a first UD gear 108 to a level for
engaging a first PLAY gear 110. From the PLAY DRIVING position to
the HOME position, the operation is reversed. In a range of
positions B, the trigger slide plate 52 triggers the trays T to
engage to the tray driving gear unit 20. And in a range of
positions C, trays T are driven to the disc exchange position X.
When the cam gear 114 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, the
tray T1 is first driven to the disc standby position Y in the range
of positions C, and it will be followed by trays T2 to T5 in
order.
[0303] FIG. 70 is a perspective view showing a state in which the
cam gear 114 is rotated to a position for unlocking the second lock
lever 94. In this state, a position of the function lever 126 is
changed in order to drive the gear train of elevation system
(elevation unit).
[0304] FIG. 71 is a perspective view showing another locking system
that prevents a movement of the recording/reproducing section 70
when one of the trays T is at the recording/reproducing position Z.
The locking system can protect the disc changer 1 from external
shock and vibration if there is an illegal power off during a
recording/reproducing operation. At the right side of transverse
slide plate 65, there is provided a pin 65d which is capable of
going into any of holes 32e-1 to 32e-5 of the UD rack 32. The holes
32e-1 to 32e-5 correspond respectively to the recording/reproducing
positions that align tray T1 to tray T5. With this configuration,
recording/reproducing is locked at a current recording/reproducing
tray T position.
[0305] FIG. 72 is a locking system summary table for the
recording/reproducing section 70. At all times, there is a lock
system that is activated to lock the recording/reproducing section
70.
[0306] According to the configuration of the preferred embodiment
of the invention, the triggering unit 50 is capable of performing
both triggering and locking/unlocking operations. That is, the tray
triggering unit 50 can be used commonly for locking of trays T.
Further, the trays T in the standby position Y locked by the tray
triggering unit 50 are unlocked and all trays T are pushed to
engage with the tray driving gear unit 20 by operating the tray
triggering unit 50, and all trays T are protruded outward from the
mechanical chassis 3 by a predetermined tray stroke, thereafter the
trays T are driven by the tray driving gear unit 20 back to the
standby position Y one by one from top to bottom, and when the last
tray reached to standby position Y the tray triggering unit 50
locks all trays T in the standby position Y. Therefore, a user can
eject all trays T from the standby position Y toward the disc
exchange position X by a predetermined tray stroke automatically
with a single button operation, so that the operability of the disc
changer 1 is much enhanced.
[0307] Further, in this embodiment of the invention, the triggering
unit 50 is capable of performing both triggering and
locking/unlocking operation. That is, the tray triggering unit 50
can be used for locking all of trays T. The trays T in the standby
position Y locked by the tray triggering unit 50 are unlocked and
all trays T other than a tray T on which the disc D is under
recording/reproducing operation are pushed to engage with the tray
driving gear unit 20 by operating the tray triggering unit 50, and
all trays T other than the tray T on which the disc D is under
recording/reproducing operation are extended outward from the
mechanical chassis 3 by a predetermined tray stroke, thereafter the
trays T are driven by the tray driving gear unit 20 back to the
standby position Y one by one from top to bottom, and when the last
tray T has reached to standby position Y the tray triggering unit
50 locks all trays T, other than the tray T carrying the disc D
which is presently undergoing the recording/reproducing operation,
in the standby position Y. Therefore, a user can eject all trays T,
other than the tray T carrying the disc which is presently
undergoing the recording/reproducing operation, from the standby
position Y toward the disc exchange position X by a predetermined
tray stroke automatically with a single button operation, so that
the operability of the disc changer 1 is much enhanced. Thus, in
this case, the ejecting and/or closing the trays T can be performed
while a disc D is undergoing the recording/reproducing
operation.
[0308] Furthermore, in the embodiment, trays T are ejected by full
strokes to the exchange position X. Thereby, a user can check
directly and visually the discs D stored inside the disc changer 1
and can exchange the discs D with a simple operation.
[0309] Also, trays T can be withdrawn in half strokes. Thereby, an
user can check directly and visually the discs D stored inside the
disc changer 1 with a simple operation.
[0310] Still further in the embodiment of the invention, the tray
triggering unit 50 is driven by a cam gear 114, and locks all the
trays T at the standby position Y after the last tray T moves from
the disc exchange position X to the standby position Y, and wherein
the tray triggering unit 50 is provided with a triggering slide
plate 52 which moves to an unlock position, and trigger profiles on
the triggering slide plate 52 move concurrently to push the trays
to engage them with drive gears. Therefore, a user can eject all
trays T from the standby position Y toward the disc exchange
position X by a predetermined tray stroke automatically with a
single button operation, so that the operability of the disc
changer 1 is much enhanced.
[0311] Also, the cam profile on the triggering slide plate 52
allows the flexible rib to hold the trays T tightly at a shipment
position and with accurately controlled free play, so that a strong
locking action of the plurality of trays T can be achieved. This
arrangement also reduces cost by eliminating the need for an
additional part for the locking of the plurality of trays T. As the
trigger profile on trays T and tray lock lever 53 can be shaped
with large slopes or chamfers, this creates another advantage which
allows the trays T when returning from disc exchange position X to
standby position Y with variations in stopping position, to be
evenly aligned at the standby position Y where the large slopes of
the lock profile will guide and align the trays T evenly when the
lock profiles are being pushed towards the trays lock profile at
standby position Y.
[0312] Still further, in the embodiment, it is possible to simplify
the construction of the disc changer 1, since both triggering and
locking/unlocking operation can be performed using only single
driving source.
[0313] Also, the tray unlock period is reduced and the lock is
effected immediately after the trays T are moved to standby
position Y. The interlocking effect of trays T can achieve the most
effective locking result. When the tray T moves in the forward
direction, a tray lock lever 53 rotates in a locking direction and
creates more locking force. In the shipment lock state, the tray
lock lever 53 is not able to move as the triggering slide plate 52
lock profile minimizes the free play gap for tray lock lever 53. So
this only allows the trays T to move backwards into disc
recording/reproducing position and prevents them from moving in the
forward direction unless by means of being pushed by action of the
triggering slide plate 52.
[0314] In the embodiment, the tray triggering unit 50 is provided
with a tray lock lever 53 which tends to rotate toward a locking
direction when the tray T moves in the forward direction, and the
tray lock lever 53 provides an inter-locking effect to trays T.
Therefore, it is possible to obtain a firm locking of the trays
T.
[0315] Also, the tray lock lever 53 is linked by a plastic linkage
to create a joining part that can rotate by itself, not interfering
with others levers, while the respective tray passes over the lever
to the standby position. The tray lock lever 53 with its plastic
linkage joins separate levers into one part for cost reduction and
simplification of the mounting process. Thus, the tray lock lever
53 can act as separate parts where the rotation of each lever does
not affect the other levers. From here start to check again.
[0316] Furthermore, according to the preferred embodiment, the
triggering slide plate 52 in the disc changer 1 of the embodiment
is controlled and activated by the cam slot of a cam gear 114, and
the cam gear 114 is also used for driving trays T. The triggering
slide plate 52 pushes against the tray lock lever 53 and provides
strong stable locks to all the trays T at the standby position Y.
When the cam gear 114 rotates in a tray opening direction,
triggering slide plate 52 moves and the lock/unlock profile on the
plate will push against the tray lock lever 53 in an unlock
direction, and at the same time trigger profiles on the plate bend
follow a slot on the mechanical chassis 3 to push the trays
forward. Thus, it is possible to use the triggering slide plate 52
to open and lock the trays T together (that is, in common). The
time for tray T unlocking is short as the triggering slide plate 52
unlocks trays T just before pushing the trays T to engage the tray
driving gear unit 20. This minimize the tray T unlocking period
before the trays T are driven.
[0317] As the triggering slide plate 52 is being moved forward the
trigger profile on the flexible ribs of triggering slide plate 52,
will touch with the trays trigger rib Th, and push the trays T
towards the disc exchange position X. This creates an advantage
that the trays T are separated in standby position Y, not linked to
parts other than the housing and the locking profile. This prevents
any problem if the positions of the trays T are slightly shifted at
the shipment position. Upon, being triggered and pushed, the trays
T can be engaged with tray driving gear unit 20 for further
transfer of trays T to the disc exchange position X, or there can
be a purely pushing action by triggering slide plate 52 itself if
the stroke allows for the trays T to move from the standby position
Y to the disc exchange position X. This creates another advantage
for the flexibility in creating various options of tray driving
system.
[0318] Further, according to the embodiment, the triggering slide
plate's trigger profile bend follows the cam profile on the
mechanical chassis 3. The profile changes while it moves from rear
to front of the changer 1. The profile contacts a trigger rib on
the trays T at the trays trigger zone, trays T then being pushed
forward to engage the tray driving gear unit 20. The trigger
profile is built on the triggering slide plate 52 as one body to
reduce cost, and the trigger profile is more flexible to bend and
withstand the trays triggering force. Pitching between the tray
trigger rib and triggering slide plate trigger lever profile can be
controlled accurately.
[0319] In the embodiment, the guide slots on mechanical chassis 3
can be arranged to have various heights and slopes. As the
triggering slide plate 52 is being moved from the standby position
Y or shipment position to the front, before the disc exchange
position X, the cam profile on the triggering slide plate 52 is
moved to the front and away from the tray lock lever's flexible
ribs. The tray lock lever's lock profile 53a will provide an
interlock effect with the trays T. The triggering slide plate 52
lock/unlock profile pushes against a lock lever profile 53b to get
better locking effect at the shipment condition. A plastic rib 53d
on lock lever 53 pushes against the mechanical chassis 3 wall to
provide a temporary locking effect to trays T while the trays T
enter from disc exchange position X to standby position Y.
[0320] Further, the tray T unlock period is minimized and the lock
is immediate after each tray T is moved to standby position Y. The
interlocking of the trays T can thus achieve the most effective
locking result. When each tray T moves in the forward direction,
the tray lock lever 53 rotates in the locking direction and creates
more locking force. In the shipment lock condition, the tray lock
lever 53 is not able to move as the triggering slide plate lock
profile 52e minimizes the free play gap for the tray lock lever 53.
So this only allows the trays T to move backwards to the disc
recording/reproducing position Z and prevents them from moving in
the forward direction unless they are pushed by the action of the
triggering slide plate 52.
[0321] Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the
foregoing embodiment, and can be variously modified or corrected
without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present
invention.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0322] The present invention is applicable to a disc changer,
particularly to a disc changer that stores a plurality of discs
therein, transports a disc selected from a plurality of discs, and
performs recording and/or reproducing an information signal on the
disc.
* * * * *